


Charlie's Story

by Mari_UC



Series: BirdFlash - Young Justice [7]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Child Abuse, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-08-27 07:42:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16698259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mari_UC/pseuds/Mari_UC
Summary: Charlie jumped back into the sidewalk at the sound of the car horn feeling his whole body electrify at the sound and looking to the side, to watch a red sedan honking the kids on the street twenty yards away from him.He looked around feeling a little ashamed for his overreaction, but luckily there wasn’t anyone around him to watch him jump over a car honk that wasn’t even directed at him. Finally, his sight ended up in the street sign he’d grabbed in his rush to get off the street. Charlie stood there a little frozen looking at the sign, remembering the small crumpled paper that was carefully hidden in his photo album, on the bottom drawer of his desk.455 Pine Rd.Freckles had given him that address. Along with a personal phone number he’d yet to use. It wasn’t that Charlie was afraid to call or anything. Freckles had been nice enough, and quite frankly making a sort-of-friend or even maybe-a-crush on that hellish hole he spent the weeks leading to Christmas had been one of the highlights of his last two months.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Back in Winter Camp, a lot of you asked me about Charlie, a side character I actually started caring a lot for. 
> 
> This is a side story that takes place between Winter Camp and Business as Usual.

Walking down the road from St. George’s Park and heading home, Charlie couldn’t help the pang of jealousy that twisted his guts watching the kids running up and down the streets showing off their new toys. TV shows would have you believe that ripping off the presents under the tree on Christmas morning was the most American tradition ever; but in Charlie’s mind, spending the whole week following Christmas and into New Year’s Eve in the streets showing the presents to your friends and family was an even greater tradition.

One that he had learnt to hate growing up, living with his parents and their family, who had renounced ‘the pagan tradition’.

Paganism, Mercantilism, Not-in-the-Bible.

Those were the major arguments he’d heard growing up as to why he wasn’t getting presents when everyone else in his class seemed to be receiving new toys and showing them to him. As a child, he’d accepted that reply and had tried to instill it into his heart, that his present-less Christmas was simply following more closely God’s teachings. That he would have a more pious life if he simply denounced physical pleasures.

‘ _And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’_

Of course, that was back then, when he still was a child and his parents’ words were gospel to him. Before he had realized how twisted their world view had become, how they misrepresented their convictions only to warp them around their own prejudices.

The first time he made the mistake of speaking of his sexuality with his uncle, he’d slapped him and told his parents. The images of Hell started to fill his dreams and were forcing sanity out of his mind. He still remembered the first time he’d woken up from one of those nightmares, seeing his dad and his mom screaming at him from a pit of lava, cursing him from condemning his family to Hell for ‘ _being a catamite_ ’.

He’d woken up crying and trembling, and he’d done the only thing he had been taught: grab the Bible and spend the rest of the night praying to God, ask for His forgiveness and His help in overcoming this temptation. Because that’s what his minister had said; it was a temptation, and he needed to pray for it to go away. The first months he’d done only that. Praying every night and trying to think of anything else but the _temptation_ that the Devil had put on his way.

About ten months later, he found the book on exorcisms.

It hadn’t been something he’d looked for, it had been mere happenstance. Some kids at school were talking about a movie they’d seen, and they’d talked about this _awesome scene_ where the character _‘made an exorcism to kick the demon of her body’_ ; Charlie had happened to been sitting there, listening, and the idea of having a way to kick a demon from someone was _fascinating_.

He didn’t told anyone about it and went to the public library to seek a book on exorcisms. He found one that was old and worn out; being a kid, he thought it look like one of those ancient books in the movies and he felt like a hero of his own movie.

He’d read it eagerly and found a number of references, all of them required complex rituals and lots of preparations. But a sentence kept repeating on the book, the need to _repel the malignant blood._

Charlie didn’t have a problem with admitting he wasn’t the brightest kid in the block. He was a regular B/B- student. He wasn’t stupid, but he wasn’t smart either. Certainly, he hadn’t been smart enough to understand the concept of _metaphor_. Or rather, he did understood it, after all, most of the teachings in the Bible are parables and allegories; but, in his mind, this was an instruction manual and instructions are to be followed, _literally_.

So, he’d taken the literal meaning of the malignant blood: He would need to _take out_ his blood and have it replaced with _good_ blood. He needed to take the demons out of him, who had poisoned his blood and he’ll be good. With that thought in mind, he took a couple scissors from his mother’s dresser and cut his veins in the bathroom.

That had been the first time he’d tried to kill himself.

That had also been the first time his father had whipped him in his back.

 _Mother_ had hid the fact that he was gay from his father, and he ended up finding out after he’d told him he wanted to take the evil blood from his body. He’d gone mad and had hit him too many times on his back for being stupid, and then for being a degenerate, and then for being a sinner who’d tried to take his own life.

He’d ended up in the hospital.

That’s when he’d first seen his parents’ hypocrisy first hand. Or at least, the first time it had really stuck with him. Mother had come crying into the ER, telling the doctors that he’d tried to kill himself. That he’d flogged himself and then tried to cut his wrists. She’d lied to the doctors and Charlie had been confused about it, but he’d simply gone with it. The doctors patched him up, and a policeman came and told him he needed to speak with a therapist.

He’d learnt many things about suicide prevention then. And about depression. And about child endangerment.

And about the hypocrisy of trying to escape the social punishment for flogging their own son, by lying and handing him over as a depressed kid.

A stupid, depressed, _suicidal_ _kid_.

Ten months later, he’d tried to kill himself again.

That time it had been a more conscious decision about suicide, but it hadn’t been exactly planned. It had been more of a spur of the moment thing. He’d been in a lab, mixing _whatever_ substances with his class and the teacher had said something about an acid and the flesh, and how it was used to melt stuff or something like that.

He’d taken a look at the flask with the translucent liquid and got a stupid idea.

He turned around, filled a similar flask with water and left it in the table; two minutes later, he grabbed the one with the acid and downed it in one gulp. One of his classmates yelled, called the teacher and he ended up being forced to throw up. Turns out, the acid was too diluted to cause any damage.

Still, he ended up using the excuse that he’d mistaken it for the water one.

The teacher had called it a lab incident, and he and the school nurse decided to leave it at that. It wasn’t like he’d a history of _trying_ _to kill himself_ or anything…

Again, the hypocrisy of adults to escape punishment.

His family didn’t learned about that until about two years later, when he’d screamed at them about how their pressure had made him want to kill himself. By that time, his attempts had risen to four and his father had found the small knife in his room.

_Oh, you think you’re too rebellious, right? The suicidal sodomite. All of this is you trying to call for attention. That’s all this is._

That had been the time his mother had said he’d fallen off the stairs.

Charlie had wanted to laugh at that.

 _Sure_. Stairs…

The nurse had acted all worried and had threatened to call social services. Charlie had decided he’d had enough drama and simply shrugged it off and went back with his _family_. By that time, all he was thinking was to wait for the right time. The right opportunity.

He could see them, the different scenarios: Walking up to a mall and jump to the parking lot, walking in front of a train, jumping on a red light, buying several packs of drugs and making himself the _ultimate smoothie_.

He wasn’t sure why he never went ahead with the ideas. The scenarios came up really interesting in his mind, while he was walking up and down his room, while he was getting ready to sleep, some mornings when he was alone at breakfast and he thought about mixing a whole bottle of rat poison with his Sugar O’s.

All the time, he’d thought of different ways of doing it.

But then, when he was on the street and a car passed close enough, he took a step back. Whenever he was on a fourth or fifth floor of a building, he grabbed the railings securely. It never popped up – the idea –, when he was out there, where he could actually do it.

By the fourth attempt, after the _fall off the stairs_ one, he’d met Kevin.

Kevin was a neighbor of one of his best friends in school. They’d met in a park playing basket. They’d clicked and became fast friends. When he turned sixteen Kevin invited him to a birthday party, and he ended up staying with him. That night, Kevin taught him to masturbate and gave him his first hand job.

The next night, alone in his room, Charlie had the Hell nightmare again.

He avoided Kevin like the plague for two weeks, until the kid corralled him in the park and demanded an explanation. Charlie talked to him about the sins, the demons, the blood and the nightmares. Kevin brought him back to his house and they saw a movie about a kid like him. He learnt of the LGBT movement.

Kevin asked him not to tell anyone, as he was still pretty much closeted, Charlie didn’t had a problem with that, so they kept seeing each other in secret for a good three months before Kevin’s dad was relocated to Florida. Kevin left, and Charlie decided to come out in the school, making out with the only openly gay kid in the school.

He spent that night on the hospital, after he was ‘ _attacked outside of his house’_ by a group of ‘ _child delinquents_ ’ who somehow had a pot of near-boiling water they’d poured on his chest. Luckily, the water hadn’t been fully boiling and his clothes took a part of the scalding, he ended up with a couple blisters on his chest and neck.

Honestly, the only thing he’d lamented that night, as the nurse changed the wet cloth on his chest, was the wasted pot of ravioli. He hadn’t expected his dad to throw the water at him, but he ended up cursing the fact that he wasn’t going to eat his favorite food that night.

That night, he’d also decided he needed to leave his house as soon as possible, and that his family couldn’t find anything else about him anymore. He decided to play the ‘attention whore’ angle his father was insisting on and got a tattoo on his chest (a four-leaf clover, to honor Kevin’s ancestry, that also covered a little of the burnt area) and started wearing dark clothes and playing loud music on his room.

He never talked back to his family and never refused any of their ideas, but he never told them anything about him and rejected everything that came from them.

He tried to get enlisted into the military but he was 16 and even if he wasn’t, his history of suicidal attempts made it really hard for him to get in, he’d been scoffed at and turned away at two recruitment places before he gave up and ended up trying to get any job.

For the past year and a half he’d tried to do anything, but he hadn’t been able to get a job. Everywhere he went, all he got was that he needed his high school diploma, or some signed bullshit form he wasn’t asking his parents to sign.

Out of desperation, he’d turned to the so-called _red district_ , only to be rudely rejected by one of the guys he’d offered a blow. And _that_ had been one of the lowest hits he’d received in his life. _Not good even to whore himself_ …

_HOOONK!_

Charlie jumped back into the sidewalk at the sound of the car horn feeling his whole body electrify at the sound and looking to the side, to watch a red sedan honking the kids on the street twenty yards away from him.

The kids that he’d felt jealous over, because of their Christmas gifts.

He took a deep breath thinking of the stupidity of walking down the street so caught up in memory lane, as the woman on the car lowered the window to yell at the kids not to play on the street, he calmed himself feeling the familiar after-rush of adrenaline leaving his body. The heat followed by a cold rush came over his muscles.

He looked around feeling a little ashamed for his overreaction, but luckily there wasn’t anyone around him to watch him jump over a car honk that wasn’t even directed at him. Finally, his sight ended up in the street sign he’d grabbed in his rush to get off the street.

_Pine Rd. / N. 42 St._

Charlie stood there a little frozen looking at the sign, remembering the small crumpled paper that was carefully hidden in his photo album, on the bottom drawer of his desk.

_455 Pine Rd._

_Freckles_ had given him that address. Along with a personal phone number he’d yet to use. It wasn’t that Charlie was afraid to call or anything. Freckles had been nice enough, and quite frankly making a sort-of-friend or even maybe-a-crush on that hellish hole he spent the weeks leading to Christmas had been one of the highlights of his last two months.

But Charlie hadn’t mustered the courage to call.

He wasn’t sure why, Freckles… Wally, had been nice enough to him. He’d been supportive and even he’d somehow managed to get enough intel on him to give him an out to his current situation. A situation that hadn’t change a bit since he left _Breeder’s Camp_.

It had freaked him out a little that Freckles had managed to get his address, but when he’d thought about it, it wasn’t that weird. Probably his aunt, the reporter, had pulled some strings and got some info on him. God knows Charlie would kill to have a cool journalist aunt who would have his back like that.

Freckles had been an idiot, and it honestly had warmed Charlie’s heart to see the kid’s hopeful face when he’d told him he was getting out. Charlie had been tempted to ask him to stay for him, but he wasn’t enough of an asshole to actually go through with that request.

Freckles had been the only one bright spot in Breeder’s Camp and after he left, Charlie realized how much he’d come to rely on the kid’s spirit and quiet acceptance. His Mother and all the sheep of the stupid camp had gone out of their way to humiliate Wally after he left and use him as an example of what not to do. The way the Doctor had made Wally’s parents stand up in front of the group and made them tell everyone that Wally had left and how much of a _disappointment_ he was.

Making everyone afraid of _that_ kind of treatment.

 _Mother_ had dialed up the bullshit to eleven after that, talking every day of how _caught up by the devil’s claws_ the kid was, and how he was _humiliating his_ _good parents_.

And how the Lord would punish him for making his parents suffer like that.

Charlie had had to remind himself every two minutes that he’ll be kicked out of the house if he yelled at his Mother; that was the only way he could bite his tongue and not explode on her face that he’ll pretty much trade anything to have an opportunity like the one Freckles had.

_455 Pine Rd._

He looked down the street and strained his eyes to see the numbers. It took him a second to realize he was probably two or three blocks west of the house number Freckles had given him. Taking a deep breath, Charlie turned and started walking.

-_-_-_-_-

As a building, 455 Pine Road didn’t had anything that would call out as an LGBT support center. The two-story exposed brick building didn’t called attention to itself. The building simply had two tinted windows and a red wooden door with three black wooden letters nailed on the center. “MSC” and above it, the address in a black metal sign. He knew the acronym stood for Missouri Support Center and he also knew the place was supposed to be open, despite nothing in or around the place highlighting what it was supposed to be.

For a second, he thought it was a stupid thing, not to advertise what you did. But then again, maybe this was one of those places you’d arrive on referral, Charlie was sure he would have completely missed the place otherwise. Actually, now that he looks around, to the bakery four houses down the street, he’s pretty sure he’s walked countless times by this place getting bread for his family, not knowing what stood there.

That sense of non-description completely changed once he walked through the door and was met with a massive rainbow flag and what looked like a thousand hats and shirts folded and piled around the narrow corridor, but the thing that almost assaulted him were the boxes upon boxes of paper, confetti and deflated balloons scattered around the place.

Three guys and a girl looked up to see him and seemed taken aback by his arrival, and Charlie was tempted to turn around and walk away that second. No way, he needs the scrutiny.

“Hi there,” said one of the girls, apparently the first one to react after his entrance. “Can we help you?” she asked and he was broken out of his little _weirding out_ moment.

“I… yeah, I was told I could get…” _help._ He growled inwardly at that thought. He didn’t need help, he wasn’t _at-risk_ as Freckles had insinuated. And he certainly didn’t need the weirded out looks. “I was referred here…” he tried instead.

“Oh, you’re new,” one of the guys said, a tall dark man in jeans and what looked like three different sweaters, that he quickly overlook as soon as the guy started talking with a deep voice that had Charlie smiling against his will; he _loved_ men with deep voices, it did wonders to his gut. “Uh- You need to talk to Fred over there, he’s on Orientation this week.” Deep Voice said pointing him to a brunette guy dressed in a red jacket and deep blue jeans.

He nodded his thanks and walked around them, being careful not to step on any of the crap dispersed over the floor. He moved into the room where _Fred_ was talking with someone on the phone, he knocked on the wooden door at the entrance and Fred turned around and acknowledged him with a small nod, and then raised his hand to ask him to wait. He turned and looked around the room for a second.

Once you take out the whole rainbow crap currently on display all across the floor, the place had a very traditional _support center_ kind of vibe. Posters with lists of places, _what to do…_ and general LGBT publicity filled most of the walls, and three desks filled to the brim with paperwork were scattered in the room, with enough space for a water dispenser and a little flyer table to be placed on the side, making the room feel full but not _crammed_.

He could see there were other two offices on this floor, and as he entered he’d caught side of a stairwell on the far side of the place. Quick math told him that, if all the offices were like this one, there would be around 15 to 20 people working on this center, easily.

He wasn’t able to continue appraising the place when a soft voice talked behind him. “Hi, sorry about that,” he turned to see Fred, who was giving him an apologetic smile, “I’m Frederic Jackson, you can call me Fred. What can I help you with?” Fred said walking him to a desk and sitting behind it. Charlie sat on the opposite chair.

“Charlie King,” he introduced himself “I’m a senior at West High. I was told I could come here… I’m gay, and I need a job.” He internally flinched about that. That had come out wrong, but Fred simply smiled at him and rested his hands on the desk “Oh… Do you want to work with us, volunteer?” he asked softly moving to get some paper.

“No… I…” Charlie stopped him, and Fred looked up at him again this time a little confused. Charlie felt himself grew uncomfortable at that. _What the hell am I doing here? Freckles was wrong this is… I’m not even…_ “Look, it was a mistake, coming here…” Charlie said getting ready to walk out and go home, but Fred put a hand on his arm stopping him.

“No, wait,” he said looking at him and gesturing him to sit back down as he talked. “Look, how about this? You tell me a little bit about yourself, then, I talk to you a little about what we do here at the Center and that way we can see if there’s something we can do for you, or you for us… Sound good?”

Charlie clicked his tongue, a little annoyed at being grabbed, but still sat back down.

Charlie told Fred some things about himself, not really trusting the guy behind the desk with his entire life history; however, he did decided to talk about a very general picture of a guy with problems in his house because his parents didn’t accepted him. About five minutes into his conversation, he decided to tell Fred about the Breeder’s Camp, and felt a little satisfied when the guy’s eyes widen for an instant and he sat a little straighter on the chair and started questioning Charlie about it, he answered honestly to all of the questions, gave Fred the website for the Camp and tried to remember as much as he could about the place.

Then, Fred started talking about the center, and turns out, Freckles had been right; the Center worked in three different areas: First, they worked as a community center for LGBT people, to plan events and organize meetings, which actually explained the ‘ _rainbow crap’,_ that was the decoration for their New Year celebration. The second area was a suicide prevention and anti-bullying campaign, and the third one was an emancipation, relocation and job assistance program.

The program was entirely funded by LexCorp and was one of many subsidiaries that help runaway and estranged kids that needed a place to put their lives back on track. The Center only worked as a contact between many other organizations and facilities in a national network that provided different solutions.

In other words, they didn’t provided any service, but had a big-ass contact list of people and organizations that did.

Charlie nodded along at the explanations and asked one or other question as different aspects of the work they did was explained to him. About twenty minutes into the explanation, Fred seemed to have finished his exposition and looked around in his desk pulling out a form from a pile, “Look, Charlie. I think there’s a way we can help you out, as I said, we have contacts with many people around the county who are happy to help our youth. I just need you to fill out this form and we’ll set a date with one of our Scouts. Their job is to look deeply into your particular case and assign the resources to help you out.”

He looked at the form, apart from the normal personal and family information, the form also included a lot of specific questions regarding mental health, family interaction, support systems and a bunch of other information. In the end, it took him a good 45 minutes to fill out the paper, and he tried to do it as honest and detailed as possible.

Fred had left sometime after he moved from the personal information, and Charlie sat there alone in the cubicle filling the form with a hopeful feeling starting to set on his stomach. Fred had talked a lot about how their system helps kids find homes and jobs all across America, and Charlie found himself imagining the possibility of getting a job in Central, or even going out of Missouri into the East Coast, some place like New York, Metropolis or even Gotham.

_How awesome could it be to get a job in Batman’s city?_

Charlie knew, if this place was financed by LexCorp they had the resources to pull a lot of information about him, so whatever he put in this form would be subject to a lot of scrutiny. He decided to write about his suicide attempt but didn’t mentioned anything about the beatings.

No need to try and get pity out of the people who read this, and he had no way of proving it in case it was contested by the Scout.

He did put the camp thing, but he tried to leave the whole religious thing behind. No need to drag the congregation into this. It was his father and Mother who were assholes. All he wanted was being on a place where they could no longer try to control what he did.

To be able to be who he was.

Fuck, if he could just go someplace where he can finish high school, have a bed, and a warm meal; he’s set. Once he has his diploma, he’ll figure something out.

He finished and walked into the other room to tell Fred he was done. The guy beamed at him and told him he would try to give the form to one of those Scouts this week, and try to get the date set before New Year. Charlie was a little surprised about that, thinking the process would take months, but Fred told him they actually worked overtime during the Holidays, as it was the time of year that people more often found themselves in family trouble.

Go figure. Charlie though that was only his family. He would have sworn the whole _Christmas spirit_ would overcome family drama, but apparently families that did celebrated Christmas fought the same as families that didn’t.

He smiled politely, and thanked Fred for his help, and then beamed at Deep Voice for the invitation to the New Year’s party. He walked out the door and saw it was about to rain, so he hurried back home, not noticing his cousin three houses back, with a bag of bread in his hand, looking at him surprised and confused.

_-_-_-_-_

As soon as Charlie walked out of his bedroom, he knew something was wrong. He couldn’t exactly place where the sense came from, as everything seemed to be just the way it normally was, but he felt _something_ in the environment that he couldn’t exactly point out. He tried to shrug the feeling as he moved towards the stairs, avoiding to touch the old wood railing. Every time he touched it, it would creak and move under his hand. Honestly, it was probably safest to walk down the stairs without grabbing the old thing.

He got into the dining room to find his father with a can of beer in his hand, looking at something in his cellphone, his mother was sitting in front of him, with her back to the entryway.

“Isn’t it a little early for those?” he asked looking at his father down a gulp of beer and managing to put a lot of disdain on the sentence. His father’s head whipped up and looked at him with a dark glare, he simply raised an eyebrow, but his Father just scowled at him as he spat “You just can’t help yourself, can you?” his Father said looking at him with loathing patent on his eyes “You _need_ to be this degenerate, shameful soul, walking away from God.”

“What?” he asked frowning. His father wasn’t above insulting him just because; but this time, that insult sounded like it was just baiting him to say anything, so he simply stood there frowning at him.

“I told your mother that Father Willis wouldn’t be able to help. You cost me five grand, and for what?” his father said slurring his words, and Charlie thought he might have had more beer than the two cans currently on the table. His father stood up and waved the phone towards him as he added “To have your mother’s brother call here, telling us his son saw you walking out of a _fag place_.”

Charlie stood there surprised looking at his father, and then he saw the phone being shown to him. A picture of him smiling and walking out of a red wooden door. _What the…?_

“Well? Aren’t you going to say anything?” his father screamed bringing his fist down on the table and making it shake, causing Charlie to jump a little and look back at him before guarding his face. Charlie remembered the feeling he got from that place, the hope he might finally find a job, a place where he could be himself. The idea of getting rid of the overbearing sense of _wrongness_ that tinted every minute he stayed on this house.

“Charles,” his mother said in a stern tone. “Your cousin’s saying he saw you leave a gay meeting place.” Charlie looked down from his staring contest with his father to see his mother, she was looking at him in disproval. He simply shrugged, trying to get his thoughts organized.

So, they knew because his cousin was a fucking snitch who couldn’t mind his own business. “Cameron? How does he know it’s a gay place?” he asked looking at them with a smug smile and a raised eyebrow. _And what the fuck if it is?_  “Maybe he likes taking it from behind too?” He added with a snort at the scandalized face on his mother’s look.

“Shut your mouth,” his mother said. His father on the other hand moved around the table screaming at him. “That kid is a good boy, not a miserable piece of…, _whatever_ you think you are…” he slurred and gestured to him with disdain.

_Good kid?_

Maybe he wasn’t an asshole like his father or a fucking bully like his uncle, but Cameron was far from a good kid. He is a pig who thought women existed to be fucked and man existed to talk about the women they fucked. He’s a degenerate, the kind of person you wouldn’t be surprised to find he has a secret closet full of disgusting fetishes.

He smiled at the idea that he could actually be a closeted gay, who overcompensates his _masculinity._  

Now, wouldn’t that be funny?

No.

No, actually it wouldn’t, it’s bad enough to be related to him, if he had him as the _only other gay referent_ for his family…

Yeah, no.

“You think this is funny? Huh?” he turned as his father came towards him, but was to slow to prevent the slap on the back of his head. His father’s large calloused hand from his work in the mines hit him close enough to the ear to leave him with a ringing, and with enough force to make him stumble against the table. His father’s face turned into a deep scowl watching him, “Having to hear our own family talk about our son, the _little faggot_. Huh? That sound’s funny to you?” Every other word was marked with another slap to his head.

Charlie felt himself go red as he tried as hard as he could not to let the hurt show on his face, on his eyes, trying not to show himself crying over this. He could take this, a couple slaps, a little venting and his father would go back to his normal frustrated self.

What he didn’t noticed, though, was the fact that while his father kept slapping at him with one hand, his other hand was unfastening his belt. He didn’t realized it until he felt the hard dry feeling of metal on his back. A whimper escaped his mouth as he moved away from him, back to the staircase, to get out of range from his father. He raised his hands in surrender, but his father kept angrily shouting at him.

“Having to keep paying to have those demons purged out of you?” his father growled as the buckle went down again on his back, right on the lower back ribs, he looked at his mother, who was standing there, looking with sad eyes at him and her hands on her mouth.

_Useless._

“Having to send you to camps to straighten you out, only for you to come here, and getting into little gay clubs?” Charlie crouched trying to cover on his own body listening to his father’s lashing out and just trying to prevent himself from crying. He protected his face with his arms and hugged his legs, to prevent the belt from him hitting him in the chest. He tried to prevent the tears from coming down and his throat from making any noise.

This was the best course of action.

Talking back would just enrage him more. All he needs is wait for the anger to pass, let him vent, and then hide in his room until his father passes out drunk.

That’s all. Just a couple more hits and his father would just stop. “What did you do there, huh? That’s where you meet with your little whore friends and fuck each other, and shot yourself with whatever drugs you do and put those stupid things on your skin. That’s what’s _funny_ to you?” his father screamed panting hard, Charlie risked to look up to see his father glaring down at him, breathing heavily and with a line of sweat coming down from his forehead.

His father turned around and went to grab his can of beer, leaving the belt on the table and Charlie risked getting up again. His legs were trembling and he felt a yell and a cry bubbling up in his chest.

He thought back on the form currently sitting at the Center, the form where he’d only talked about the camp, and the verbal slurs and his own suicide attempt.

He’d decided not to talk about this. About his father making him crawl on the floor and leaving his body filled with buckle marks. About the humiliation of having to lay there and let him beat him as long as he wanted.

He’d never talked back. He never protested. He just sat down and took it.

_Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you._

“What are you looking at?” He looked at his father and realized he’d been glaring at him. “Nothing,” he answered quickly before he realized his mistake. His father grabbed the belt and hit him across the face, this time with the leather side, as he yelled at him “You think you can talk back to me?”

Charlie looked back and had to restrain himself into sinking back on the floor. His father raised his hand again, but Charlie felt a dark heat on his belly and moved his hand and managed to grab the belt before it hit him again. His hand felt hot as it took the blunt of the lash. “Stop,” he screamed feeling the heat take over his body. His father looked off-put and tried to pull the belt as he muttered a confused “What?” to him.

Charlie tried to pull the belt off his father’s hand as he screamed “Stop that!”, but his father pulled back harder making him lose his footing and ended up being pulled towards him. His father raised his arm and hit him with a punch on the jaw making him drop the belt and fall down on his ass.

“Ohhh, is that how it is?” He said dropping the belt and coming closer to him, Charlie looked afraid as his father came closer and grabbed him by the arm forcing him to stand up. “You feel like a man, now.” He said pushing him up. “You think you can talk back to your father, and give me orders, huh?” His tone grew darker and Charlie lost his footing as his father pushed him again into the staircase. “Think again.”

The punch came to his guts and Charlie doubled down in pain and whimpered at it, his father pushed him back again so he was lying on the stairs and punched him in the face, hitting his nose and having the stairs dug painfully on his back. “You’re not a man, you’re a fag, a fucking faggot who will never achieve nothing.”

Charlie tried to turn around, but trapped between the stairs and his father, he couldn’t do anything other than raise his hands to try to protect his face as his father hit him time and time again in the head, the arms and the shoulders, each hit harder than the previous one, and every single one of them sending him against the stairs causing the back of his head and his upper back to be repeatedly smacked.

After a couple hits his father took a step back and Charlie tried to scurry away to the upper floor, trying to get to his bedroom, the tears making it difficult to see where he was going.

If he can lock himself down, he can wait for his father to drink away the night and forget about this.

“See? You run away like a little bitch…” his father said just as he was about to reach the final stair.

“Come back here,” he growled grabbing one of Charlie’s legs and making him fall on the wooden floor, just in front of the common bathroom, hitting his forehead and whimper down in pain.

“James, that’s enough,” his mother said coming up to the stairs, and Charlie prayed his father would listen to her, but he simply scoffed at her as he walked up to him, grabbed him by the hair and threw him against the old stair railing.

“Fuck off, woman,” his father said looking back to his mother, standing in the middle of the stairs “I let you convince me to spend five grand on this trash, I should have kicked out years ago. And now he’s just a worthless fag, who meets more trash like him in little clubs. Do you act like a man with them? Or are you a little pussy there too?” His father said spitting down on him.

The dark fire that had come before, arrived again and Charlie couldn’t stop himself from muttering a “Fuck you!” to his father. He looked manically at him and slapped him across the face one more time, before pushing him back on the railing “What did you say?” he howled and Charlie felt the dark metallic taste of blood on his mouth and smiled as he collected the saliva and blood on his mouth and spat it on to his father’s face.

Charlie should have laughed at his father’s shocked and angry expression, but before he had time his father’s hands closed around his neck and started to choke him and pushing him back against the wood of the railing, causing it to sink into his back.

A flare of panic shot though Charlie’s body as he felt the air failing to reach his lungs, he scratched his father’s hands trying to pry him away and he looked into the crazed blood shot eyes and the blob of bloodied saliva sliding down his father’s cheek.

His mother’s cries barely registered on his brain as his father pushed him once more into the railing without releasing his hold on him. And then, he felt a loud creak behind him, and his back was pierced on the sides, getting scratched despite the two layers of clothing.

He felt the hands of his father leave his throat and he took a deep breath before noticing that the house was tilting. He looked up to his father’s shocked face, and turned just barely to see his mother with a horrified expression on her face, both hands on her mouth on a silent scream.

Funny enough, despite being the one falling down the second floor, it wasn’t until he saw his mother’s face that his brain connected the dots. The railing, the old wood railing he’d always been afraid to touch, had finally given out and he was falling downstairs.

He heard, rather than felt the sound of glass, and then the back of his head exploded in pain as his head connected the small glass phone table his mother kept on the first floor with the landline and a place to put keys, bills and flyers.

He saw the flyers and bills scatter around him as he struggled to take a second breath. He heard steps and shouts and some weird sound coming from the house, feeling the darkness rise around the room.

For a second, he thought that maybe this was fine. That he could die, finally. That he could stop the wrongness and the uneasiness and the yelling, hurting and pretending. He could stop. Just stop.

Then the darkness set in, and the only thing Charlie could listen was the voice of their Preacher after he’d cut his veins. After he knew Charlie was gay.

‘ _Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?’_

Charlie felt a coldness and a deep fear overcame him as the pain settled on the back of his mind as the same sentence kept repeating over and over in his mind. The fear that settled in his body as that sentence kept playing on his mind made him remember that first night he’d woken up with the image of his dad and mom being dragged into lava burned into his mind, and her muted screams was the last image Charlie saw before the darkness finally claimed him.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing he felt was the chemically _clean_ smell that came to his nose. Then, the shooting pain on the side of his back flared up and he allowed himself a groan. He risked to open his eyes and surveyed the room. His head was surprisingly clear though his mouth felt like he’d been sucking a salt rock.

He tried to move but the pain on his back came like a bitch and forced him to fall back down. He groaned again before taking a deep breath.

He managed to remember pieces and images from the hospital, having someone take a thing out of his throat, being asked to swallow something, and…

And a red-haired guy.

A really muscular, broad-shouldered, serious looking ginger. He was wearing a black tank top, black sunglasses and a red baseball cap. The hot stuff was wearing it backwards which usually screamed _asshole_ in Charlie’s mind, but somehow his hallucination _totally_ made it work for him.

Because, of course he was a hallucination.

No one in his family was that fit, or that handsome, or had that _hunk_ feel. Charlie could bet the guy also had a deep voice, but in his hallucination he couldn’t hear him, despite the fact he seemed to be yelling a nurse.

_And why would a hallucination yell at a nurse?_

Well, that was beyond Charlie’s mental powers right now.

So… Hospital, after an injury, long enough to need to be intubated and have hallucinations, so probably a _lot_ of drugs.

Then the image of his father choking him came back to him.

He fought a tightening feeling on his neck and looked again around the room. It was nighttime. The curtains were closed, but he could see enough of the street to notice it was dark outside, and it was raining.

He moved his eyes around, he was in a single room, the door was opened, but he could only see a hallway wall and what looked like a trash can. Inside his room there was a TV, but it was off. No clock, no calendar and nothing in the tables to his sides that could tell him the date, or even the hour. He tried to stand up again but the pain flared, this time on his ribs and he was forced back down.

He took a breath and was about to try again when a voice came from the hallway, “Oh, no, no. You need to stay down,” he looked up to see a short middle aged woman walking in, she was a chubby dark-skinned woman, dressed in all in pale green outfit. She smiled softly to him as she put her hand on his shoulder easing him back into the bed. “There, sweetheart, calm down. You took a nasty hit to the head, and your back was really bruised, but we cleaned it up, you shouldn’t feel more than a dull pressing” she said and grabbed his patient sheet “You’re a strong one, huh? You weren’t supposed to wake for another half an hour.”

The nurse, Abigail, was tender and patient with him, giving him water to get rid of the salty feeling on his mouth. She asked a lot of questions, and in turn he got some information about his state.

He’d gone into ER, but he’d been too out of it and apparently he’d hit his head pretty bad, so he’d admitted in and spent the night. He’d slept over 36 hours. He wasn’t a critical patient so the doctor wouldn’t need to come in tonight, but he’l pass by tomorrow to check on him.

Police too, apparently.

His father had been arrested after the nurse had seen the marks on his neck and the bruises on his back. His mother had been with him until a couple hours ago, when she left to be with his father and probably taking him out of jail.

Charlie was glad she wasn’t here. He couldn’t deal with her blaming him right now. It might be petty, but he wasn’t in the mood to hear his mother telling him how much God was punishing their family because of his deviation and that his sins were breaking the family apart.

He tuned out the nurse after she started talking about nursing and caring for his wounds. He already knew the drill. It surprised him that Abigail, instead of snapping at him for not paying attention, had simply smiled and told him to sleep tight, and to roll to his right if his back started hurting (apparently, his left side had been hurt by the wood railing). She also told him that she would be back in the morning to go over it again, when he was less tired.

“Oh, and your friends will be allowed back again tomorrow, visits start at 9.” Charlie turned around to look at her surprised.

_Friends?_

His only friends, - well, the only ones close enough to visit him here-, were Karen, Brad or maybe even Pete. But Karen was with his parents in Gotham for the Holidays, Brad had hooked up with some dude and were on a car trip for New Year’s, and Pete hadn’t returned his calls since he’d told him he was going to Breeder’s Camp.

The nurse simply smiled to him apologetically and told him she hadn’t gotten the names, but that they’ll come tomorrow. He asked for his cell and she told him all his belongings were taken, either by the police or his mother, so no chance to get it back until tomorrow.

_Great._

With nothing else to do, Charlie simply dozed off again into sleep, finding it easier than he’d originally believed.

-_-_-_-_-_-

It was several minutes past 9.

He knew that because he could see the visitors had started walking up and down the hallway some 15 minutes ago, going to the other rooms.

He’d been awake since 8, when Abigail had come back again and finished with all the injury checks and bandage dressing training. He tried to tell her he knew how to tend the injuries, but she didn’t care and tried to teach him anyway.

He’d given up and followed all her instructions. Then, breakfast had come. Then, the doctor.

Then, nothing.

After the initial rush of visitors indicated him that it must be 9 a.m. he’d held hope that his mother would show up, but she hadn’t. And then fifteen minutes later, his room was still empty. He was tempted to shout for Abigail and ask her for the TV remote, when he caught a flash of movement on the hallway though the huge window panel he’d somehow missed last night.

A ginger guy was passing through and Charlie thought it look somehow familiar, before he walked into the room and he could see his face. “Hey, Charlie!”

Charlie frowned looking at the newcomer. He was… ‘ _Freckles? What the…?’_ Freckles was looking at him weirdly with a half-worried half-amused face and then Charlie realized he’d actually said that out loud. “Sorry. I mean, Wally, Wall-man, what are you doing here?”

“Freckles?” he teased smiling at him and Charlie flipped him off. Wally came closer to him and grabbed a chair and placed it near his chair “How are you?”

“Back hurts, managed not to break anything, though, so silver linings, I guess?” Wally nodded biting his lips “You haven’t answer me, though.” Wally seemed uncomfortable in his chair a little before answering “Well, I tried to call you; some policeman answered and told me you were hurt, so I came.”

Charlie looked at him incredulous, so Freckles had been told he was hurt, and he’d gotten on a car and driven all the way from Central… to visit?

“Why?” he asked confused. Charlie’s pretty sure Karen, Brad and Pete are stand up guys and probably his best friends… but he’s not sure _they_ would do that. Sure, they’ll probably be worried about him, considering he’s not touched his phone in over 48 hours; but from there to driving here…

And yet, Freckles, who a couple days ago Charlie wasn’t sure if he should even count as a friend, he’d…

“Sorry, I… Didn’t thought you’ll… Right, must look weird…, I’ll just leave,” Wally stammered faster than any human should possibly can, looking flushed and standing up from the chair, and Charlie realized Wally must have taken his confusion as apprehension.

“Wait, Wall-man, you just got me by surprise,” Charlie explained as he grabbed his arm preventing him to leave “I didn’t expected you to just drop by.” Wally nodded at him with a small smile on his face and scratching his neck “Yeah… No, I get it…” he said standing by the head of the bed “I can go, though…” _If you’re uncomfortable with me being here,_ Charlie could read the unspoken ending of that sentence.

“Nah!” Charlie replied “I would never tell you to leave. Plus, I’m kinda bored… you can stay till my folks arrive…. _They_ probably will kick you out.” His mother would think Wally’s somehow Charlie’s boyfriend, or _whore_ -friend, or whatever… that’s if she doesn’t recognize him from the camp, then he’ll be a demon trying to tempt him. He tried an apologetic smile looking at Wally, but Wally was biting his lip and avoiding his eyes. “What?” he asked.

Wally tapped the floor with his feet before dropping again on the chair, probably trying to organize his thoughts, before looking at him. “Police hasn’t dropped by?”

_…the hell?_

Charlie simply shook his head confused and Wally sighed raising his hand and passing his fingers through his hair before continuing “Well, your folks… I told you a policeman talked to me, right? Well, your dad’s in jail… and your mom’s… kind of… blacklisted?” Charlie looked at Wally confused and couldn’t stop the ‘ _What?’_ that escaped his lips. “Well, they suspect abuse,” Wally continued “They don’t want her being here and influencing your statement… or something like that.”

Charlie laid back down on the bed looking at the ceiling.

_Mother’s blacklisted…_

_She’s not coming…_

He could get it, though.

It was smart. His mother had been the one to convince him not to tell anyone what had happened to him all those years back, and the one to come up with the crazy scenarios.

Now, though, the PD finally got their shit together and realized he needed to be by himself. He wondered what had made it… He remembered Abigail saying something about his neck marks, the marks his dad had left by choking him.

He’d never done that before…

Charlie suddenly felt the room was a little too big for him and only Wally’s presence managed to ground him… _Wally’s_ … “So… how are you here, then? If visitors are restricted…” he asked and let the question linger on the air for a couple seconds while he tried to find the mental breaks that would stop the fucking room from spinning.

“Well, I charmed the nurses, of course,” he replied and Charlie actually scoffed at the whole act Wally was presenting. Right, as if _Wally_ could actually walk to a woman and try to- What? Woo her?

 Wally seemed to be offended by the answer and then just shrugged it and told him the truth, “Fine, I pulled some strings. Some friends helped me out.”

Which was not really the truth Charlie was expecting.

_Friends… Helped him out…_

“Oh, so you have friends in high places?” Charlie teased rolling his eyes _._ Honestly, he didn’t really mind how he did it, really. He was really glad Wally was here with him. He would have gone crazy waiting for someone to come talk to him not knowing no one was coming. _Still._ “And you use them to sneak into hospital rooms? Lame, dude,” he teased without any heat, but enjoyed the fake huffing and exasperated sigh from Wally.

They stayed silent for a while, but then Wally started talking about what had happened on his life after the Camp. How his aunt and uncle welcomed him back, and his boyfriend had taken the break-up really hard and Wally was trying to win him back.

At some point, the nurse came and they asked her for the TV remote, and put some background news program, but quickly forgot about whatever they were talking about when a report from Central showed footage of the Flash and they started fanboying over the Hero.

Charlie thought it was crazy how Wally tried to deny how _smoking hot_ Flash was. Every gay Missurian seeing that sweet ass wrapped in tight-fitting spandex has to have thought to themselves a variation of ‘ _yummy’_. And, while he preferred Flash, the sidekick wasn’t bad either. A little less defined muscle, but those runner thighs… _Holy fuck!_ Charlie wanted to see those thighs tensed and opened up to him.

Charlie knew Wally must have thought about it too, especially with how he went beet red as Charlie told him of his _tag-team_ wet dream with the Kid and Flash, Wally probably had a secret crush on the heroes too, probably also jerked to them all the time and was just being _puritan_ about it.

When Wally’s brain started short-circuiting too much, Charlie just laughed one last time and had mercy on the _‘poor chaste kid’_ and changed topics, talking to Wally about his Christmas, which was absolutely boring and laughed with Wally when he told him about his.

He was going to have to meet this _Aunt Iris_ , who seemed to be _the best_ , going by Wally’s stories.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was just around the second Christmas story, when the police officers showed up, asking to take his statement. Wally walked out, promising to stay close by and Charlie faced the officers, who all things considered were really nice to him. They explained that they’d arrested his father on grounds of child abuse, domestic assault and that they wanted his statement.

They offered a legal counselor and told him that this preliminary statement was pretty much an informal interaction, since he’ll need someone from child services with him for his statement to be legally valid. Still, he told them everything about the day.

The officers made a couple comments, gave him back his cell phone, asked him if he had other family members he could contact, and then promised that a person from Social Services would show up throughout the day. With that, the police officers left, leaving Charlie to digest the information.

_Child abuse._

_Domestic assault._

He’d known those were crimes. He’d known the situation he was in would probably fit those crimes. But he’d never realized the scope of it. Assault by itself was a felony, up to 7 years in prison. Since he was a minor, it was also child abuse, so it might even go up to 15, if the judge was particularly tough.

And the officers had been talking about his sex orientation as a motive, and hate crimes, and the fact that he’d been in the hospital a couple times before…

About five minutes after they left, Wally knocked on the door and peeked in to see if he could come back, and Charlie nodded, leaving the phone forgotten.

Somehow, Wally’s presence soothed him.

They’d met on one of his darkest moments, when he was about to break and sent his family to hell, and his presence had helped him through the Camp. Wally sat on the chair and stayed there, not saying anything and Charlie appreciated it. He needed a little quiet time, but he didn’t felt like being alone either.

After today, his father could go for a long time. And so could his mother…

Charlie shut his eyes. He shouldn’t care… Not really. He’d been trying to leave the house for almost two years now.

_This… This is supposed to be a good thing. And yet…_

He felt the tears tail down on his face and he covered his face with his arms, pressing his eyes against the nook of his elbow. This was supposed to be a good thing. Getting rid of them.

_Why can’t I just be happy for this? Take the win._

He’ll probably get emancipated. He’ll probably get sent to a foster home where he’ll be treated better. He’ll never have to see his father, or his mother, or his uncle, or Cameron- the stupid pig.

He… It’s what he wanted… And yet.

_I’ll be fine. I’ve been fine all my life._

_Even after cutting my wrist and drinking acid… I’ve been fine._

_I can do this…_

He’s done lying for his father, though. After listening to the officers describe the conducts and after seeing the crazy blood-shot eyes of his father strangling him to death…. He can’t, he won’t.

He felt the panic set on his chest and tried as best as he could to stop it from spreading.

Charlie felt a warm pressure in his arm and realized Wally had placed his hands on his arm, and was trying to calm him down and Charlie couldn’t find it in himself to be mad. He smiled to Wally, and he beamed back at him.

Charlie just laid down looking at the ceiling, replying the events on his mind, thinking over the words the officers had told him and replaying the events in his house over and over again.

“Hey, Char,” Wally’s voice brought him back from the circle of memories. He turned to Wally who was looking at him with a soft look “Can I… Is it true?” he asked, “Did you dad do this?” Wally asked directly, looking at his neck, at his strangling marks. He knew he hadn’t been able to keep the truth from his face, because Wally sucked a deep breath and muttered a soft “Fuck, Charlie!”

Charlie would have liked nothing more than to be angry at him for pitying him, except Wally’s eyes were so open, and honest, and so fucking caring, that Charlie might even kiss the guy, screw the boyfriend thing.

And quite frankly, after the whole puritan thing with the Flash, he might have made up the boyfriend thing.

He shook the impulse away and instead went for a stupid joke. “Here? Kinky…” he replied flatly, and earned himself an indignant scoff from Wally, who simply rubbed his arm before going back to the chair. Wally draw him back into a conversation about whatever and Charlie felt himself ease back into the conversation and his fears suddenly disappeared while he started telling Wally.

Wally had something, it made it easy for Charlie to trust him. Kind of like the nurses or the therapist he’d seen after his first attempt.

Like a learnt ability to make people feel at ease.

Wally had told him he wanted to be a scientist, but honestly, with that level of empathy, he would make an amazing first respondent, like a nurse or an EMT. Maybe even a doctor or a psychologist. It would be nice, to have a doctor friend, none of his other friends really had big career aspirations. Karen wanted to be a teacher, Brad had no idea what to do with his life and Pete would likely take over the family farm.

Thinking about them, he turned on his phone and checked notifications, as expected a couple of his friends had sent him messages and called him repeatedly. Even Pete, had sent him a message and telling him that if this was a prank to get them talking again, he will ‘shove a pen up your…’ _ouch_ …

There were other messages and calls he decided to ignore completely for now.

He quickly arranged a group chat with Karen, Pete and Brad and sent a single message telling them the abbreviated version of what happened.

He also sent a version of ‘Sorry. I’m in the hospital, tx for your messages’ to the couple people that tried to contact him while he was offline, and spent the next 10 minutes answering messages and trying to calm Karen who’d just freaked out and was threatening to leave his family in Gotham and drive here.

It brought a smile to him and he remembered Wally’d done just that for him. It warmed him to think that they would do that. _I really don’t deserve these guys._

He took a photo of Wally and sent them to their group chat, and soon enough Wally was added to it. He marveled at the ease with which his friends accepted Wally. ‘You’re there with Char, so you’re my new favorite person’ wrote Brad, and Charlie smiled softly at the phone.

They had been talking for a good fifteen minutes about nothing at all, when Charlie looked out the hallway window and saw a familiar face there.

A short dark-haired kid, kind of cute, and somehow Charlie got the feeling he _knew_ that guy but couldn’t place him. Wally said something about Karen teasing him and Charlie forgot the guy on the hallway to look at Karen’s message. He laughed at Wally and was about to reply, when Karen’s contact photo almost made him drop the phone.

The photo itself wasn’t anything outstanding. It was just her and her family on Gotham’s First Cathedral, a picture from the trip she was on. But the photo made him remember something else Gotham was famous for: His resident billionaire playboy.

Bruce Wayne.

_Holy Shit._

“Wally,” he whispered and Wally looked up to him confused and Charlie tried his best to look at Wally, avoiding looking out the window directly behind him. “Don’t look, right now… But, I think _Richard Grayson’_ s standing _right outside_ this room!” he said feeling himself freak out a little.

The most famous person he’s ever met is the city’s Mayor, and even that was in a school event. He’d never actually seen showbiz or _tabloid_ _people_ before.

“What?” Wally asked confused and he was about to turn around, but Charlie grabbed his hand and glared at him. _Even I know you can’t just **look**._ “Richard Grayson, you know?” he whispered feeling flustered “Bruce Wayne’s ward. The heir to the Prince of Gotham. I can swear the guy standing there is him,” he finished.

He was certain of it. He’d looked at enough images of Wayne and the kid he’d adopted to recognize him. He and Brad both had a major crush on Wayne so they look up at any image of the man online and Richard had come up pretty often.

“Sounds like you have a crush on him,” Wally said, and Charlie noticed something odd in his voice, it was teasing, yeah, but also… weird. He simply shrugged it off and rolled his eyes at Wally. “ _Everyone_ has a crush on him. I prefer Mr. Wayne, though.” He replied honestly.

“Noted…” Wally said with a weird voice and then he grinned, a completely wicked grin that should have told Charlie he was up to no good, but still… “Wanna meet him, this _Grayson_ kid?”

…

_What?_

“What?” he asked dumbfounded, and then, in the most inexplicable way, Wally stood up, just out of his reach, turned around and just waved at Richard Grayson.

He just… _waved._

“ _the fuck_ , dude!?” he asked scandalized before he realized Wally not only got _Richard Grayson_ to wave back, but also motioned him to come into the room.

Charlie looked up to Grayson’s face and he was smiling as he walked in, and Charlie felt his face was about to turn seven shades of red, and tried to straighten up his sheets and look kind of presentable… in a hospital gown…

_Oh, fuck my life. Fuck everything about my life._

_I get to meet THE Richard Grayson, and I am wearing a fucking blue hospital gown…_

Grayson was even cuter in person than he was on TV and pictures, and wasn’t that just _too unfair_? He walked in wearing a heavy blue jacket, some tight blue jeans and black sneakers. He gave two tentative steps in and waved them. “Um, Hi?”

Charlie tried to say something, but his voice was caught in his throat so he simply waved at him feeling like a perfect idiot.

Wally, however, seemed to be having no trouble at all, as he simply walked up to him and said “ _Mr. Grayson_ , hi! Pleasure to meet you!” Richard looked at him weirded out, probably confused at being addressed as Mr. Grayson, or just weirded out by Wally. Charlie however didn’t had time to ponder on that, because, of course Wally just _kept_ _talking_. “My friend here kind of has a crush on you-”

“Wally!” The scream, or quite technically screech, that came out of his mouth wasn’t something he was going to be proud of, but he just looked horrified at his _supposed friend_ who was looking at him grinning.

_The asshole._

Charlie felt his face had just caught on fire by the time the cute boy by the door simply said a very confused “Oh?,” Charlie was about to say something when the kid started muttering “Sorry, I’m not…, not…”  Charlie understood perfectly what Richard was trying to say.

He was NOT.

_Not gay._

_Not interested._

_Not comfortable._

_Not fucking sure, what the hell I thought when I walked into a stranger’s room._

Wally West better have his will updated, cause as soon as Charlie’s getting up this bed, Wally’s dead meat. Ground meat.

Charlie’s making him into _fucking_ _meatballs_.

“Pity,” Wally said with a smug smile on his face, and Charlie sent him a dirty deathly glare. But then, the fucking asshole kept talking, apparently ignoring Richard’s evident unease. “How about your guardian, then?” _Oh shit, no…_ “I think Char’s got a daddy kink.”

For a second, the room went quiet, and Charlie could only look horrified how Richard’s face went from questioning, to scandalized as he saw him, and then simply red and uncomfortable.

Seven different expletives choked with each other in Charlie’s throat as he tried to comprehend _WHAT THE FUCK IS WALLY DOING??!!!_

Then, his voice worked again.

“WHAT?!” was the first thing he managed. “No, I don’t!” he cried looking at Wally and sending him a _fuck you_ as the other one broke in laughter _._

“Shut up you asshole!” he yelled a split second later.

_Then,_ he saw Richard’s face and he stuttered as he tried to explain that his friend was an asshole. _A dead meatball_. “I’m so sorry, Richard. Mr. Grayson, sir! I… he’s… he’s just kidding…”

Richard, bless his soul, smiled and raised a hand at him calming him. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m used to Wally’s… pranks,” And Charlie felt relieved at hearing that he… _Wait…_ “It’s Charlie, right?” Richard said continued as Charlie was still trying to…

_What?_

“You know each other?” he asked confused pointing at them.

“Yeah, didn’t I mentioned? Dick’s my… We’re friends.” Even in his confused state, Charlie noticed the unused possessive and the hesitation before the _friends_ thing.

He filed that comment for later, but for now, Wally was still laughing at him, congratulating himself for being _too funny_. Charlie decided to threaten him with death and bloody fury.

Then _Dick_ , (because, apparently Richard Grayson had _way too much self-confidence_ ) properly introduced himself, and told him he’d come to check on Wally, and apparently rich people can afford to make a trip from Gotham to Missouri, in a private jet _just because_.

Five minutes later, Wally had manage to integrate Dick into the conversation and he and Charlie had had a blast teasing their friends in the group with pictures of Dick.

Wally’s brilliant ‘I’m sending a Dick Pic’ became an instant favorite with his friends. And Charlie was sure all of them were biting their elbows with jealousy when they saw the image of Charlie, Dick and Wally in the hospital bed.

Still, Charlie got to see a different side of Wally, after bringing Dick in.

A lighter, more carefree, more _alive_ Wally.

_Friends._

Yeah, sure…

Wally was heads over heels for Dick. And, if his eyesight wasn’t screwed by the hit, Dick was floored as well. There was a something in Dick’s eyes though… Charlie couldn’t place it, but he saw it, every time Wally tried to touch him, Dick’s instinct seemed to be to relax into it, but then it was like reason kicked in and he tensed up.

After a couple minutes, he was laughing and got himself into a coughing fit, and Dick ( _THE Dick Grayson!_ ) offered to bring him a bottle for water. Charlie readily accepted, in part because, well, Dick Grayson offered, and in part because as soon as he left, Charlie was able to confirm his suspicion. He sat up and as the door closed and he slapped Wally on the arm, perhaps a little harder than he needed to.

Wally complained, but Charlie didn’t cared. “He’s your boyfriend!” he stated quite firmly but managing to keep it as a whisper, having connected the dots. “The boyfriend you told me about, the one you wanted to go after, when you left the camp…” He said and Wally’s face confirmed it for him.

_Holy-fucking-exclusive: Dick Grayson’s on a relationship._

_On a **Gay** relationship._

_Fucking Hell._

“We’re… on a break” Wally said trying to crash Charlie’s illusions.  But still, he could have chosen a more believable lie. “Yeah, whatever, _Ross,_ ” he replied with a flat stare.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Wally asked.

_Oh, I don’t know, that you’re both obviously in love, and we’re not in sitcom that needs to fill 10 seasons of stupid ansgty-drama…_

Still, Charlie scoffed and ignored that, focusing on the _real_ issue here. “It means, you’re an **asshole** for not telling me you were hooking up with _Bruce Wayne_ ’s kid.” He said looking at him before sighing at Wally’s obliviousness.

_Does he not realize he’s sitting in the fucking story of the goddamned century?_

“Listen, kid. When you’re dating Mike Whats-his-name or Johnny Whatever, you can say ‘I have a boyfriend’. But, _that_ is not _Johnny Whatever_ , that’s **Richard Grayson**. He’s _the_ trust-fund baby. When you’re dating _him_ you don’t just call him ‘ _your boyfriend_ ’, you tattoo ‘I’m Shagging Dick Grayson’ on your forehead and yell his fucking name to _everyone_. Especially, to the people you call your friends” Charlie ranted looking at him, Wally just smiled at him softly, and Charlie scoffed at not being taken seriously.

“And other thing… you don’t just dump _him_ to go to a camp _-_ ” Charlie froze in his place looking at Wally. Suddenly, the whole scenario made sense in his mind. Why Wally didn’t talked about them as boyfriends. Why Dick seemed to freeze every time Wally touched him.

“Oh, my God!” he said looking at Wally dumfounded. “You dumped his ass!” he yelled. _Holy crap._   _That’s a whole other level of crazy…_ Wally West dumped Dick Grayson. It takes balls or next-level stupidity to pull a move like that and…

_Wait a minute…_

“You dumped him… and he’s still trailing along with you?” Charlie asked marveled and looked over Wally once over. “Jesus, Freckles, what’s the secret? You a sex god or something?” he asked.

Wally went red and muttered indignant. And Charlie was about to rebuff when he saw the ashamed stance, and how Wally seemed to sink into himself. Ashamed. At a simple sex joke. The same way he’d acted when he talked about the Flash thing…

The same way he acted every time Charlie brought up sex in the conversation. _No way._

“You’re _shitting_ me… You haven’t…” Charlie asked making an obscene gesture with his hand, and Wally’s deep crimson red gave him all the answer he needed. And then he turned to the door, because…

“Yeah… I… We…” Charlie didn’t need anything else. _He’s a virgin._

Jaw, meet floor.

“I’m 17, He’s 15,” Wally said like it meant something.

“So?” Charlie said, but Wally couldn’t answer whatever he wanted to say, because Dick Grayson (THE _Dick Grayson!!_ ) walked back into the room with the bottle of water, Charlie tried to give him his brightest smile as he took a large gulp of water.

Water that _Dick Grayson_ had gotten for him.

Dick Grayson, who was the _pinning-boyfriend_ of his friend, Wallace West.

_…_

_Right._

Maybe he should check with Abigail to see if he’s not just running high on morphine and having a massive hallucination.

He wasn’t though.

He was just being melodramatic, horny, and a bit star struck, to be honest.

That last feeling faded away pretty soon as he talked with Dick, or rather, as he saw them talk to each other after confirming his suspicion.

They made sense.

Dick somehow made Charlie remember Kevin, and he ended up caressing his chest, over his clover tattoo. He hadn’t thought too much about him lately, but Dick’s carefree attitude and Wally’s mesmerized gazes made him remember a time when he was the one giving those looks to a different kid. He shrugged the thoughts away and instead started teasing Wally about the story Dick had told him.

Sonner than he’d expected Abigail walked in and told him lunch will be served soon. Wally and Dick were allowed to stay and keep him company, but as soon as his food disappeared, Abigail said he needed to rest. Dick said they would go out to have lunch themselves, and that they’ll be back at 4.

Charlie nodded goodbye, but as soon as they left, he didn’t managed to fall asleep, instead he turned to his phone, and opened the messages he’d ignored earlier.

The family chat from his Mother’s side was filled with messages. He skimmed through the religious chains and all the political bullshit and focused on the things they were saying about him. He quickly found the first reference, his mom had sent a message telling everyone she was taking him to the hospital. Charlie felt the normal pit on his stomach when most of his relatives asked his mom if SHE was ok. And to let them know if SHE needed anything.

_I am in this chat too, you know?_

Then Uncle Robert wrote about his dad being in prison, and that threw them into a different conversation that was cut short almost immediately by Granma’s ‘ _This is not for that kind of conversation._ ’ So Charlie knew his family had kept talking about it, but not on a chat he was in.

The rest of the conversation was a mix between prayers, politics and bullshit pictures he didn’t really cared about.

The family chat from his Father’s side was similar enough, though the main story was his father being in jail. The fact that he was in the hospital had barely been a comment. The rest of the chat was more politically inclined and less religious.

So, nothing too unexpected…

He checked the other messages. Granma had sent him a couple of emojis, and some of his relatives sent general _get well_ messages. Charlie only replied to three of them. A kiss emoji to his Granma, and two heartfelt messages to Aunt Linda, his mother’s sister, and to her daughter, Caroline.

Aunt Linda was kind to him. Even after he came out. She was the only one who didn’t treat him any different than before. She wasn’t exactly comfortable with him, having being raised in a fundamentalist home; but at least she wasn’t a shit to him, like the rest of the family. She at least tried to still _be_ family.

Caroline, her daughter, was four years older than him, and was currently in her Junior year at UCLA. She was a die-hard feminist, and the second black-sheep of the family, so of course they just clicked with one another.

Still, they were a little estranged from the main family, which meant Charlie barely ever got to see them.

He wrote to them and actually managed to speak with Aunt Linda for a good twenty minutes. Turns out his Mother had freaked out a lot about his dad strangling him and they’d had a huge fight afterwards. His mother had gone to vent on the family chat and apparently the tension in the family was quite high.

According to his Aunt, Mother had gone to stay with Granma, and today she was going to visit Father at prison, but the bail hadn’t been settled and they were caught up in the Police station. All the family had been barred from seeing him or talking to him. Which apparently didn’t phased his Aunt as she kept talking to him regardless of police mandates.

She asked him if he needed anything delivered to the Hospital. Apparently, Cameron had been sent to deliver some clothes and food a while back, and when he told her he hadn’t received them yet, she promised to call him and try to get those delivered ASAP. After that, she’d stopped writing for a while, and then apologized and promised to call after work, and keep him updated.

The talk actually calmed him a little. There wasn’t a lot of new information, but he could see how his family was acting about it. He’d been certain his mother would side with his father and place the blame on him. It made him feel somewhat vindicated to see that he wasn’t the only one who’d felt the choking was crossing a line he shouldn’t have.

Soon enough, his arms started to feel heavy carrying the phone, and when he turned to the side, he found himself staring at the screen not really focusing on anything. Sighing, he dropped the phone on the table and decided to have a little nap.

_-_-_-_-_

Dick and Wally arrived a couple hours later. Cameron had left a backpack on the front desk, and Abigail had brought it up to him, and he was changing when the couple arrived. Dick had managed to get his hands on a PSP and they’d wasted the rest of the afternoon taking turns on Tekken.

Before they realized, it was nearly 6 pm and Abigail passed by, reminding them that Charlie would have to spend the night in the hospital, and he’ll be out tomorrow morning.

“So, do you have any plans for tomorrow?” Wally asked him, and Charlie looked up at him wondering about that himself. “Well, I can’t go home…” he said, trying to think of what to do. And quite frankly that was as far as he’d gotten.

And that’s only because Abigail had told him he’ll leave tomorrow.

A dark cold feeling settled on the base of his spine as he thought about it. He’ll have to leave the hospital, and he’ll have nowhere to go. Social Services was supposed to show up, but they hadn’t arrived yet, and without that, he hadn’t any idea what he could do. He knew he couldn’t go home, the police had mentioned something about relatives, but Charlie was pretty sure no one in his family would be too happy to take him.

So…

“Hey, maybe…” Charlie looked up to Wally and saw him biting his lips mulling over something, and he raised an eyebrow, motioning him to continue “I’ll have to ask Aunt Iris, but I don’t think she’ll mind if…”

_Aunt Iris?_

_Oh._

“No,” Charlie interrupted Wally from finishing that _if_. Wally looked annoyed at him and clicked his tongue continuing. “Come on, you can go stay a couple days on Central with us. I’m sure my Aunt…”

“Wally. No,” Charlie interrupted him again and raised his hand as he was about to speak again. He got Wally wanted to help, he probably hadn’t realized how much just the fact that he was here was helping him deal with the fact that his life was spiraling out of control so fast, Charlie feared if he tried to even stop and think about it he’ll throw up from the whiplash. If he went to leave with Wally, he couldn’t stand to look at him in the face ever again. “Look, thank you, really, but I can’t. I’ll see what I’ll do when Social Services comes…”

“The Center, you said you’re waiting for an answer. Do you have an idea when, though?” Dick said, probably sensing his discomfort on his boyfriend’s idea of taking him home, like he was some sort of stray. Charlie sighed and told him about Fred’s timetable, he thought that maybe, if he told them about the situation with his family, he could push the meetings faster, and maybe get an answer sooner.

That could be Plan A, Plan B could be Social Services.

Might work.

All he needs is to figure out what to do tomorrow night for sleep arrangements. He can’t go home, and he doesn’t exactly has a card to his name to pay for a Hotel, maybe he could arrange to go to a shelter, he knew there were a couple of them in the city, but… “I think I have an idea.” Dick said suddenly when they were discussing options for tomorrow night, “Let me make a phone call…” he said turning around and taking what had to be a smartphone two-generations ahead of the top of the market right now.

“What’s he…” he asked turning to Wally, and he simply shrugged with a smirk on his face “Dunno. Calling your crush, probably.” Charlie flipped him off. Confessing he may have a crush on Wayne to Wally had proven disastrous to him so far, and chances are he’ll never live it down.

_Well…_ If he gets to meet the guy in person, he’ll be more than willing to suffer through any humiliations.

“I’m serious, Charlie. About my aunt’s house… I’m sure we can…” Wally started to say, but Charlie bristled at the suggestion being brought again and glared at Wally without saying another word. The redhead got the message and shut up sighing. They stayed in silence for a couple of minutes, and Charlie looked out to the darkening evening, it was going to be snowing soon, and he got a picture of himself out in the cold leaving the hospital without a destination.

He hoped the guys at the Center could help him with a place to live while they review his case, he knows there are a couple shelters and people on TV are always talking about the Foster Care system… Maybe he’ll get into that…

Maybe he…

“There _is_ a WH hotel here, I’m just waiting for the address.” Dick’s happy voice brought him back to the present and Charlie looked back to his smiling face confused. He turned to Wally but he was looking as confused as he was. Dick kept smiling coming close to the bed. “ _Wayne Hotels_ are a franchised owned by Wayne Enterprises; I got you a room there, Lucius’ setting it up, should be done in the hour.”

“What!?” Charlie turned to Dick looking flustered. One thing was Wally, who he’d somewhat gotten a rapport with after the whole camp thing offering him a room, he understood that, but Dick Grayson was… he was, this rich boy from the magazines and the TV, there was no way Charlie was getting _charity_ from him “No, I can’t let you-”

Dick rolled his eyes and put his hand on Charlie’s arm, coming closer to him. “Char, thing is, I already asked,” he said shrugging and looking at something on his phone “Room’s already yours, for as long as you need it. No charge, no time limit. You could just go and stay there for a couple nights, ´till the guys from Social Services contact you, or whenever the people at the Center call.”

“I…” Charlie wanted to refuse, he really did, and was pretty certain he will end up refusing. Even though it did sounded appealing, having a hotel room, a place he can stay. And now that he knew what Dick was talking about, he did remembered the WH hotel. It was this eight story building by the second exit to the Interstate, it was partially secluded and it held a lot of events on the lobby. Charlie had gone once for one of the recruitment events for the Army.

It had been the day of his second and final rejection to be enlisted. The WH was really nice, with a huge open space, and back then it had seemed to be made only of glass and steel.

“Please? I’ll feel better knowing you’ll have a safe place to sleep tomorrow.” Dick said again and Charlie looked up to him, he was looking at him so full of hope and with a tiny hint of a smile, Charlie felt like crap for having to reject him.

“Dick, I appreciate this, but I’m not comfortable accepting this. I’m not anything to you, I have no…”

It was right, he didn’t wanted to be just _charity_. It might be stupid, but he knew that for Dick he was simply the _Missouri guy who’s friends with my boyfriend_ , and maybe to someone like him it might seem like nothing; but to Charlie, it was being indebted to him and honestly there was nothing Charlie could give Dick that could even amount to anything.

He didn’t wanted to be a burden, he didn’t wanted to be pitied.

He…

“You’re Wally’s friend. And he told me about you, and how you helped him in this _camp_ thing.” Charlie turned surprised to Wally, he’d barely even spoken to the camp to his friends. He couldn’t imagine how a conversation like this might go to your ex-boyfriend, who you’re hoping to be together with again. Dick didn’t let him stay on his thoughts for a while, as he continued, “I wanna do this… for a friend…” And Charlie had to smile at that, because Dick was stating it, but his tone held a little questioning tone, and maybe a bit hopeful as he looked at him.

Asking him if he wanted to be friends…

Charlie had never asked anyone to be his friend since primary school.

In his experience, friends weren’t something you _asked_ , they just kind of _happened_ as you talk and share with people. He tried to remember if Pete, Brad or Karen ever asked him to be his friend, but couldn’t. They’d met in school, hanged out and then he stopped thinking of them as _them_ and kinda turned started mentally calling them _my friends._

It’d sort of _happened_ with time.

And yet, here he is, Dick Grayson, with his huge blue eyes, his small tentative smile and his tilted head, looking at him and telling him (asking him) to be his friend, and to let him help. And Charlie tried, he really tried to reject him again, but those big eyes were so full of hope he couldn’t for the life of him deny him anything.

“I- Yeah, it… fine. I… Thank you, Dick. I-” And then Dick broke into a huge grin and looked at Wally who in turned beamed at both of them. Charlie was going to have to ask Wally how the hell did he managed to break up with him.

If Dick looks, smiles and acts like _that_ …

_How the fuck do you leave someone like this?_

Charlie sighed and laid back down. “As soon as I get out of here, I’ll seriously just focus on looking for a job, and I’ll be out of WH as soon as possible.” He promised looking at Dick, and then closed his eyes and wished out loud, “I hope I’ll get an answer from the LexCorp guys, soon though.”

If they can help him get some sort of work/bedroom/school arrangement he’ll see how he manages to sustain himself. He knew he wasn’t the most skilled guy but there are tons of works he can do to get some into sort of deal. At least he hoped he could.

“LexCorp?” He opened his eyes to look at Wally, and was surprised to see the confusion and wariness in his face. He simply ignored it and nodded to him. “Oh, yeah, the Center. It’s sponsored by LexCorp, can you believe it?” He can’t believe he forgot to tell them about it. It was the main reason he was putting most of his chips on the Center. If LexCorp’s supporting them, it means they have the resources and the social compromise to help them.

“Wait. That's a LexCorp sponsored program?” Dick asked and again Charlie could hear the _something’s wrong_ tone in his voice. “Yeah-" he said realizing that Wally and Dick suddenly seemed to be extremely serious about this. "Why?" he asked confused.

They shared a weird look to each other and Dick smiled and waved his hand dismissing it a little in a carefree attitude, "I don't trust LexCorp" he answered, and Charlie smiled a little at that. He looked to Wally to see if this was some sort of joke or internal prank, but he still was looking troubled at him.

It... didn’t make sense.

"You don't _trust_ them...” Charlie repeated dumbfounded. _Dick Grayson_ doesn’t trust LexCorp. “ _Why?_ That’s the company of the guy that stopped WWIII, the second most charitable guy in the world after… _well_." he motioned to Dick. It was well known that Bruce Wayne was the world’s largest philanthropist, but Lex Luthor wasn’t so far behind him.

Luthor was one of the most successful businessmen in the world, but he was also a _people’s person_. He ran an impressive number of charities and aid organizations around the globe. He had a hand in most of the agricultural technology in the country and his company was usually number one on technological advances.

LexCorp had been the company to buy the mines here in the town, and instead of closing them and shutting people off, they’d turned into research centers to revamp the economy of the town.

This town owed its very existence to Luthor.

All of that, without even mentioning the guy had very notoriously managed to stop a war in Rhelasia just a year ago, for fuck’s sake.

He already had the Nobel Prize secured in his pocket.

_Don’t trust LexCorp…_

He turned to see Wally and Dick had started a silent conversation with their eyes and he was about to interrupt them when Wally sighed and threw his hands to the air defeated “Look, I didn’t knew it was LexCorp, ok…” he… _apologized?_

“How _did_ you found this Center, anyway?” Dick said instead and to be honest, Charlie was also kind of curious about that himself.

“I didn’t,” Wally said shrugging “It was Roy who…” Whoever this Roy guy was, his name seemed to click something in both Dick and Wally, because a split second later, Wally growled a “ _Son of a bitch,_ ” as he walked briskly to the door.

Right before he left, Charlie managed to hear a strong “Harper, you asshole…” before Wally’s voice was muffled by the door closing. Dick was looking at Wally with a frown in his face and he was biting his lip thinking about something.

Charlie on his part, decided to ask the main question on his mind. “Who’s Harper?” The guy that had given Wally the idea of the Camp… Until now, Charlie had thought Wally had gotten the address from his Aunt the journalist, but now, he’d said it was this Roy Harper guy.

Dick turned to him and for a second, Charlie thought he’d forgotten he was here, like his mind had gone to a whole other continent and he was running million scenarios on his mind. Dick smiled at him before answering “Oliver Queen’s former ward.”

“Queen… Where do I know that, uhm…?” Charlie was sure he’d heard that name somehow, but it didn’t came to mind…

“Owner of Queen Consolidated, Mayor of Star City…”

_Oh… Goatee Mayor._ Of course, Charlie had heard of him.

Star City was the jewel of the Northern Pacific. One of his uncles actually lived there for a while but decided to come back after some Tirad war thing.

_So, that makes it two billionaires Wally knows…_

Charlie wanted to laugh about it. Here he was thinking _Freckles_ had looked like your normal average guy back in the camp. He’d approached him, because he didn’t give any weird vibes. And now, it turns out he’s got a more exclusive contact list than fucking _Vogue_.

“Sorry about that…” Wally said coming in and sending a silent message to Dick. Charlie wanted to laugh at how _obvious_ the two were being. He might not know the details, but there was an interesting gossip here.

He smiled at them “So… I guess I’m supposed to ignore the fact that you guys reacted like _this_ just because I mentioned LexCorp?” He asked raising an eyebrow and both Wally and Dick turned around to look at him surprised.

_Come on! I’m not **that** stupid._ There’s obviously something juicy here, something the son of a billionaire and his boyfriend are in the know. Something about LexCorp. Dick confirmed his suspicion when he simply said “Bruce dislikes Lex.”

Charlie couldn’t help to feel dejected and a little disappointed at both his friends. Seriously…

So, _Lex and Bruce are in a squabble._ Both billionaires liked to play it as if they were pals. Charlie had once heard some TV anchor mention how weird it was that Bruce and Lex had never done major charitable work together, since they obviously care for each other.

Now he knows the truth. And honestly, it is a little petty… Dick and Wally can’t exactly drag Luthor’s company’s name like that and act like he’s a villain just because they don’t like each other.

_Rich people’s privilege, I guess…_

“Right,” Charlie said dismissing the whole issue. He didn’t really cared about this that much, there was a much more important issue at hand.

“Second question, Walls, exactly how many billionaires’ kids do you have on speed dial?”

Now, that reaction on Wally’s face was _priceless._

Dick and he simply laughed as the other kid seemed to realize he had in fact, a very select group of close friends?

_What’s next? He’s finding out Wally knows… oh I don’t know… some prince from a faraway country? Or maybe… Luthor’s illegitimate heir? Now, wouldn’t that be a nice gossip, instead of the petty billionaire squabble._

He laughed mentally at that idea as he saw Dick explaining that Wally actually had known a lot of people through him ( _Well, Duh!_ ).

They stayed gossiping about rich people for a good hour and a half, before Abigail came in and told them that visitor’s hour was about to finish. Dick and Wally promised Charlie to come pick him up tomorrow and take him to WH and Charlie was infinitely grateful for that. He didn’t wanted to have to ask his family to come pick him up, even though a couple of them had actually offered. He didn’t wanted to see anyone until he got an idea of what to do with himself.

As he was dozing off, he took a second to consider the fact that Social Services hadn’t actually showed up. He scoffed at that as he tossed and turned in his bed trying to find a position that didn’t left him feeling sore or itchy.


	3. Chapter 3

Charlie had expected the Hell nightmare that night. He’d expected to see his father in prison and his mother cursing at him as they were dragged in a world of fire and brimstone. He’d stayed up staring at the ceiling dreading the moment his eyes would close.

He didn’t though.

As his eyes settled on the fluorescent lamps on the ceiling of his hospital bedroom, he realized he hadn’t actually dreamt… or if he had, he didn’t remember what he’d dreamt of. He sighed turning to the side and grabbing the remote to turn on the TV to get a sense of time and switched to a news channel out of habit.

As far as he was concerned, that was one of the few good things his family had instilled in him: Interest in news and politics. Sure, almost everyone in his family only focused on listening conservative news and had a very particular view on the subjects discussed, but still, ever since he can remember, TV in his family usually meant alternating between movies and news **programs.** He could easily sit through a five hour legislative debate if he cared, even moderately, about the topic, but watching a half-an-hour reality show was enough to make him groan and want to pluck his hair.

It never ceases to amaze him every time he walks into his school to find people, real smart straight-A students, who are not even aware of the stuff happening in their country. More than once, he’s found himself talking to Pete or Karen about some decision in DC, only to realize they have no clue what is going on, or that they only have just read some online post about it. His friends make fun of him: the B- student who can talk for hours about politics.

Focusing on the TV, the hosts were busy talking with some guy he vaguely recognized as a congressman, though he couldn’t really recall his name. They were discussing the likelihood of a bill to pass, but Charlie didn’t care about that right now, instead he focused the clock on the corner of the screen that showed a bright red _6:44 CT_.

He groaned when he realized he’d actually woke up way earlier than he was supposed to. He moved on the bed and tested his back as he pushed himself up. Pain flared on his left side, but he ignored it. Once he was on his feet, he realized it wasn’t as bad as he’d imagined. He’d long ago gotten used to move around with the dull feeling of his bruises around his back.

He knew it was a sick thing to be used to, but after four suicide attempts and six - seven now - visits to the hospital for “accidents” in the last three years, he’d come to respect his own body’s resilience.

With Wally and Dick’s visit, and the shock of his father’s arrest, he hadn’t really had much time to come to terms with his injuries yesterday, but today he actually felt somehow close to normal.

He took a deep breath and walked to the bathroom and took another deep breath before he looked himself in the mirror. He was surprised to see his face was quite ok.

One cut on the forehead and one on his right cheek that he hadn’t even felt before. He looked at the bandages on his throat and an image of his father’s crazed face as he pushed him against the railing came suddenly into his head making him take a step back and avert his eyes from the mirror.

He had to put his hand on the cold tiles of the bathroom wall to steady himself as he looked anywhere in the room, except the mirror. He had no idea what had brought the disorientation he was feeling, nor the tightness in his stomach. He’d seen his injured body before. He would normally strip bare after each beating and stare into his full body mirror in his room cataloguing each bruise and cut.

Memorizing why he was supposed to stay away from his family and why he must keep his mouth shut and not give them anything about himself. He then would dress himself up making sure to cover each and every bruise and cut, even if it meant using turtlenecks on summer or having to go out and buy some fingerless gloves.

He hated having to cover his hands, but one time his father’s belt buckle had ended up in his palm and had made a nasty bruise he hadn’t known how to explain, so he’d ended up buying and wearing gloves for almost two weeks. The memory made him remember he’d actually grabbed his father’s belt, he looked down but his hand looked clear.

He’d almost forgotten about that...

He’d talked back to him and even tried to pry the belt from his hand…

If he’d not made that stupid mistake, his father would have stopped then. He would have gone back to his drink and Charlie would have locked himself in his room, and nothing would have happened.

He sighed dispelling the thoughts from his mind and focus again on the mirror. His hair was a little longer than usual and his chin was starting to show a fuzzy stubble, he groaned as he passed his hand over his mouth and chin. He hated stubble. He didn’t mind a beard, he loved a clean shave, and he hated anything in between.

He looked at the bags under his eyes and checked his cuts again seeing they were almost closed. He didn’t remembered cutting his head, so they must have happened as he fell on the glass table. They were shallow and he hoped they wouldn’t scar.

Slowly, Charlie lowered his sight until it fell again on his throat. He sighed as he touched the bandages and managed to catch a glimpse of a purplish hue under them. He was internally grateful that it was winter, he could get away with wearing a scarf without calling attention. He swallowed thickly and messed with the tape on the side until it came off and he practically ripped the thing off him.

The sight wasn’t pretty. The cream Abigail had spread on his bruise last night had long been absorbed, so his skin wasn’t shiny, just a dull blue-purplish hue. He got why the police hadn’t waited for his declaration to take his father, he could easily identify three sets of fingers. It was pretty obvious what had happened.

His father had strangled him.

His father had honestly _tried to kill him_.

He’d taken his hands and put them on his throat, blocking any possible airway.

Charlie remembered the pain on his throat, the burning sensation on his chest as his body screamed for air. He remembered how it felt, his callous miner hands closing, pressing the skin against his throat, the feeling against his bones as the pressure forced his larynx shut.

Charlie stopped seeing the images in the mirror as he realized he wasn’t just remembering the pressure, but actually feeling it on his throat. He tried to take a deep breath, but his throat was closed and he just ended up falling to the floor opening and closing his mouth trying to get air into his chest, to no avail.

The white tiles around him started to shine and his vision started to get blurry and glistening, and Charlie took both hands to his throat digging into the bruises on his skin, trying to dislodge whatever it was that was preventing him from breathing.

He started to feel the tears trail down his cheek hot and wet as his body cried for air and the room started to turn around him, too white and too bright. Suddenly, his hands were no longer on his throat as something pulled them away from his body and he fell on the floor.

Something was pressed against his eyes and the room became clear again, and two dark eyes were staring at him, the face was just a couple inches away and Charlie tried desperately to tell them anything but his throat was still closed. He looked at the face, but those eyes were calming and he saw the rhythmic movement the face was doing with her lips, opening them comically wide and then closing them, and then opening them again.

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

_Inhale._

Charlie tried to copy the movement and opened his mouth wide and then a huge mouthful of air entered his system and his body seemed to kick back into automatic. It took him a couple breaths to regulate his intake, and then a second more for the rest of his senses to come back online.

He recognized Abigail kneeling next to him, on the floor, talking to him. “That’s good. Just take your time.”

“I’m fine,” he forced himself to tell her, with his voice a little coarse. He managed to sit up against the bathroom wall and looked up to his nurse. “I’m ok. I couldn’t breathe…”

“It’s fine… It’s perfectly normal. You’re just fine. Now stay there a second, don’t try to stand up yet. Just let your body settle itself first.” She said as she stood up and went to the room for something. Charlie sat there looking at the toilet and letting the fear he’d felt a second ago wear itself off his body.

He wasn’t sure exactly what had happened to him. One second he was ok, then he’s struggling for breath on the bathroom floor. He took beep breaths and a pang of fear settled on his brain after each exhalation, thinking he might not be able to inhale again, and then a cold relief washed over him as he realized he actually could.

Abigail came back a couple seconds later and helped him stand up and walked him to the bed. He was about to lay down, when she asked him to stay seated for a second. It was then, that he realized his bed actually had a bunch of creams, bandages and rolls of tape carefully placed there, and he realized what the nurse had been doing while he breathed in the bathroom floor.

“I couldn’t breathe,” he said as the woman busied herself next to him. “Yes, honey, I could see that. Gave me a hell of a scare finding you on the bathroom like that, I was yelling for the doctor before you started breathing on your own,” the nurse told him with a soft voice. Charlie huffed

‘ ** _You_** _got scared?_ ’

Still, he instead focused on trying to figure out what was wrong with him “I think there’s something wrong with my throat” he said looking at her and trying to bring his hand up, but the nurse grabbed his hand before he could touch his throat.

“What makes you say that?” she eyes him carefully. Charlie actually scoffed at that, “Well… For starters, I _couldn’t breathe,_ ” he answered with a slow and condescending tone, and the raised eyebrow told him Abigail didn’t appreciated it.

“Can you breathe fine now? Or do you still feel something wrong?” Charlie took another deep breath and told her there was nothing.

“Well, your throat is sore, bruised and swollen,” Abigail said touching and prodding around his throat causing a sense of discomfort take over Charlie, and finally noticing how sore it really felt. Abigail still smiled at him after applying some sort of cream and starting to bandage it “The doctor will want to examine you further, but I think its fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, the X-rays came clear too,” she said, and Charlie raised his eyebrow, he didn’t knew they had taken X-rays of his head. But Abigail just smiled and taped the bandages. “Strangulation Protocol, dear” she said to his non-question. “That’s a thing?” Charlie said without being able to stop himself.

“Oh, sure. 911, EMT, police, and hospital personal, we all know it,” Abigail said moving to the base of the bed and taking a folder before handing it to him with a secretive smile on her face “I’m not supposed to, but, here.”

Charlie opened the folder and looked at a series of diagrams of his neck and head. A lot of notes and references were made, and he quickly found the reference to his X-Ray next to a tidy black note that simply stated _No internal injury_. “Then, why…”

“Well, _why’s_ are kind of the doctor’s job, but… did you woke up because of the breathing problem? Is that why you took off your bandages?” Abigail asked him as she coaxed him into laying on the bed.

Charlie tried to remember if he had felt the pain as he woke up. “No. I… I woke up, turned on the TV and then… I went to the bathroom… I wanted to see the… So I took them off, and then, it felt as if something was pressing against my throat.” He told her.

“Like a little ball inside? Or something pushing out?” She asked making gestures again her own throat. Charlie focused on what he’d felt. “No… Like hands…” he said, and as soon as he did so, he realize what Abigail was going for.

“Well, we’re going to have the Doctor take a look, but honestly, I think it was just the shock of seeing the bruises and the swelling.” Abigail said tidying the bed and disposing of all the things she’d used to re-bandage him.

Charlie huffed at her “So, I _imagined_ being strangled?” he said with a little venom and feeling silly at himself for making a big deal out of this.

“No, kid. You didn’t. But, I think it was a small anxiety attack. It’s common in domest… _patients_ like you. People who’ve been attacked,” _Victims._ Charlie wanted to scoff and laugh at that. It was an interesting change from the ‘ _you’re crazy and suicidal’_ tone he usually got in hospitals. “They see their injuries and relieve what cause them, making their bodies react to it.” Charlie did scoffed at that, he was used to looking at his own injuries and they never made him relieve shit.

Abigail gave him a measured look, “Listen kid, the Doc will check for anything out of the ordinary. But, in the meantime, you just stay in bed and try to get some rest”

Charlie sighed as he laid down on the bed. He’ll only have to wait a couple hours and then he’ll be able to leave.

_-_-_-_

By lunch, Charlie was more than ready to bolt. So far, the only upside to his day, after realizing his throat wasn’t in real danger, was the fact that he was allowed into his own clothes.

Child Services had come in and they’d been absolutely unhelpful. If by yesterday he’d been immensely glad to have Dick’s help with the hotel room, after talking with the devil of a man that had come from the Child Services program, his appreciation for Dick’s help had skyrocketed.

The guy had come in, told him that he’d been assigned to his case, and that he was in contact with his family to arrange a place for him to stay until they found a more permanent solution. Temporary Guardianship, he’d said.

Charlie was nodding along, until the guy had said that so far his best bet was his uncle Will.

Cameron’s dad.

The asshole who’d sold him out.

Charlie told him he wasn’t going to go live with him, and when Charlie told him about Cameron’s role in his attack, the guy had rolled his eyes and told him it was them or the street, since the town didn’t had a child care facility available for him. Charlie decided to keep quiet about his option to go to WH and simply growled at him as he said he’ll rather take the streets.

The guy had sighed annoyed and then started to recite whatever bullshit code he’d memorized in the College for Asshole State Employees. At that point, Charlie simply tuned him off, nodded when necessary. Ten minutes later, the Police arrived and with a state attorney and Asshole present, they took his testimony.

He told them everything about the attack feeling his throat close again a little when he came to the strangulation part, Asshole from Child services actually seemed taken aback by his story and after the police left, he was a little more amicable and left him his card, telling him he would be present when he was ready to leave. Apparently, he needed to sign on his release.

Charlie nodded, saved the guy’s number on his phone, finished lunch and tried to sleep again. He would be released later that afternoon, and he’d already texted Wally and Dick telling them to meet him at WHs lobby later that day.

So, he didn’t had anything to do until then, so he’d thought he’d sleep.

But… Sleep hadn’t come.

Charlie ended up sitting on his bed, browsing on his phone and sending a couple messages to his friends. The chat with Wally, Dick, Pete, Karen and Brad took up most of his time as they all made plans to meet at the Hotel once the whole gang was back in town. Talking with his friends eased his mind about whatever was going to happen after he left the hotel room. He’ll be 17 in two months, and by September he’ll get his diploma. Then, he’ll get himself into a job and somehow manage to live on his own.

It wasn’t until that talk with Child Services that he’d realized how fucking screwed he was, if _that guy_ was to be his Plan B, he’ll need to make the most out of whatever the Center and LexCorp could offer him. He didn’t told his friends, though, didn’t want any of them to feel like he was begging for money or some shit like that.

He was a little surprised when Child Services guy showed up twenty minutes early, as the TV anchor was presenting the Governor of Arkansas to talk about the new Voter ID law. Charlie turned to see _whats-his-name_ as he entered. “I thought check-out was at three.”

“It is. I was just informed your mother is downstairs, in the hospital lobby,” he told Charlie with a guarded tone of voice that made Charlie sit straight on his bed. Mother was downstairs. Charlie worried for a second that she might have come to prevent him to get out, or to force what’s-his-name to leave him with her. His next words actually confirmed Charlie’s fear “She’s there with your uncle and your cousin. Now technically, I was supposed to deliver you to your Uncle’s house-”

“I told you, I’m not going-” Charlie exploded. He wasn’t. There was no way he was stepping a foot into Cameron’s house.

“But,” what’s-his-name continued with a grave tone of voice obviously annoyed at being interrupted “Being here with her indicates he violated one of the conditions set on him in order to take your temporary guardianship. I’m going to have to reach out to other family members, hopefully from your mother’s side. Until then…” Charlie knew what the guy was about to say.

He was going to have to stay in this room.

In this hospital room.

He was going crazy in this hospital room.

He was having panic attacks and didn’t had any of his stuff.

“No,” he blurted out before he could stop to hear him. The agent simply turned to him with a sigh and started talking in his stupid monotone voice, “Charlie, you have nowhere to go, and I cannot just drop you off on a corner.”

Charlie bit his lip and weighed his options. He wasn’t going to be discharged without this guy’s signature, and he wasn’t going to sign his discharge papers unless he had a place to go. A familiar place. He could always pretend to leave to his Uncle’s house or to Granma’s and then slip out into WH. Maybe he could even get Wally and Dick to wait for him on a taxi outside of his Granma’s place and they could all go to WH.

But then, he would probably violate some stupid minor’s law and they might sent him to some shelter or even a police station.

“What if I had… somewhere to stay…” he cautiously asked him. What’s-his-name looked up at him with a measured look, probably assuming Charlie was bluffing and trying to get out of staying with his family. “Where?” the guy asked and Charlie immediately replied “A hotel.”

The guy huffed and rolled his eyes and replied with his monotone voice “The State won’t pay for a hotel room for a lone child. If you were with a responsible guardian, I-” But Charlie didn’t care for what the _rule book_ might allow _the State_ to spend on him. “No, the _State_ won’t have to pay anything.” Charlie cut him and trying to channel as much disdain into his voice while imitating the asshole’s tone “I have a room, already paid,” he said.

The guy narrowed his eyes at him as he said slowly “I thought you weren’t financially independent.” Charlie clicked his tongue, “I’m not. I’m just friends with… the owner’s child,” for some reason Charlie felt shy to say Dick Grayson’s name. Like being his friend was some sort of secret he should keep. It also helped that he realized if he suddenly told this guy he knew Bruce Wayne’s child, he would be convinced Charlie was lying.

The guy hummed and looked at a pad that he had brought “Is it a family hotel?” he asked and Charlie swallowed. “Not exactly…” he said and took a breath before answering “The WH by the Interstate.”

It was kind of nice to see the guy look at him surprised for a good two seconds before he managed to find his voice again. “The WH? What, you know the manager?” he asked with a little apprehension in his voice. Charlie was tempted again to blurt out Dick’s name, but managed to simply nod at him. “And you are _sure_ you have a room?” the guy asked narrowing his gaze again at him. He hummed once Charlie nodded again and looked back at his pad as he started to mutter to himself loud enough for Charlie to make out most of his words.

“That would mean no adult supervision, no reliable guardian… But, those hotels usually have tight security. And if you know the manager we could set a blacklist on who you meet and when… I’ll have to have to check out with the PD and with my boss, and I’ll need someone from the hotel to ensure you actually have a room for yourself there…” He muttered and looked up to see him at the end. Charlie nodded hopeful that maybe this guy wasn’t as much of an asshole as he’d initially believed. “I’ll call the manager and give him your contact info,” he bluffed thinking he will have to call in another favor from Dick, but, if it gets him out of his uncle’s house, he’ll grovel if he has to.

“Then, maybe… for one or two nights, while we arrange something permanent… I’ll make a couple phone calls and tell you what we can do.” the guy said before looking up from his pad back to him and pressed his lips together in thought. “So, about your mother…” he asked bringing back the initial conversation and Charlie felt himself sink in his bed at the idea of meeting his mother.

“I know it must be difficult, but you cannot have unsupervised contact with her. Not until the first hearing at least,” Charlie nodded at that, Police had told him the same thing, and they’d repeated it like a hundred times, to make sure he understood; Charlie guessed most people would be distraught to find they can’t see their parents for a couple days, but, a small part of himself was… _relieved?_ No, it wasn’t relief it was… ease. Ease of mind. He’d felt like an asshole for thinking that and the guy from Child Services must have picked something because he backtracked and started trying to come up with an answer Charlie wasn’t asking for. “If you want to, though, I can set up a meeting. I’ll be there, I’ll have to oversee everything, but you can talk to her. Would you like to?”

_No._

No, he wouldn’t like to. Mother had always taken his father’s side and let him to take the blame of his abuse. He didn’t wanted to see her… he-  “Could… Could you say no?” The guy looked at him straight in the eye for a whole second before nodding “If you want me to,” he replied taking a note on his pad.

Charlie looked back at him clicking his tongue at the misunderstanding. “No, could _you_ say no? Like, it’s a State rule or something? That I can’t see her until… later…” he tried to finish strong, but it sounded too much like a plea to him and he shut himself off. The guy looked at him hard for a second and asked carefully. “You want me to lie to her?”

Charlie huffed and snapped at the guy “No. I just don’t want her to know _her son_ doesn’t want to see her.” He looked taken aback for a couple seconds before looking to the floor and nodding before scribbling something on his pad. “I’ll talk to my boss about the WH hotel. Checkout may take a bit longer.”

-_-_-_-_-

All in all, it took five more hours and a direct call from the WH manager to convince them that the room actually existed. They actually had the hotel send an invoice to prove that the room was open to him indefinitely, and even then, it took a longer time because his uncle apparently was fighting for him to go with them, probably his Granma and his Mother were pressuring him for it.

In the end, he was taken in a police patrol car to the hotel, where he was welcomed by the manager and taken to his room, after hearing all the rules he had to follow to be left by himself until the court ruling about his parents and the administrative process on his guardianship.

If he was lucky, though, he might be able to get around all of that. Apparently, if he manages to secure a job and prove to be self-sufficient, he could get a partial emancipation which would allow him to apply for certain benefits and state aids. According to the guy he’d talked to – Gary, actually, managing to secure a hotel room was a great first step in proving the court that he was able to operate as an adult, so he was to a great start.

There were also two folders of paperwork he needed to have filled by tomorrow.

Once he was settled in his room, they all left him, and Charlie opened his phone to write Wally and tell him he was in his room.

After he pressed send, Charlie’s eyes fell on the AT&T tag on the corner of his phone.

AT&T- He was in a shared data plan with his parents. He had been since he was twelve.

If his mother or his father wanted to, they could cut him off… And he didn’t had a credit card or access to a savings account. He’d always been given his allowance in cash and right now…

Charlie opened his backpack and fished out his wallet Cameron had brought to him yesterday; he opened it to check its contents… 22 bucks.

His assets right now amounted to $22, a cellphone and a backpack…

There was no way he could survive with $22.

_I wouldn’t last a week on that budget._

_Even if I don’t spent it on food, and only ate at the breakfast buffet, I would still need money. I’ll need to buy clothes… and personal care products… I need toothpaste and deodorant, soap and shampoo… I’ll need to buy all of that._

_I’ll also need to care for myself._

_I’ll probably can get by without a haircut for a while, but eventually I’ll need to get one, and I’m scheduled to go to the dentist next month. There’s no way I have money for that now._

_And when I go back to school, I’ll need money for transport. I’ll need to buy supplies… I’ll have to get books and notebooks and pencils and all other stuff my parents used to get for me…_

_I don’t have anything anymore and mother would probably not let me get any of that from the house, so everything I have is in the backpack._

_And Cameron didn’t pack nearly enough there…_

_I didn’t thought this through._

_I didn’t thought it at all…_

_I’d only thought of having a roof, but…_

_There’s no way I’ll…_

A knock on the door snapped his attention from the mirror he was looking at. He looked over himself and noticed he actually looked a bit deranged. A part of himself wanted to laugh at the pathetic sight of him once he realized he’d actually started pulling on his hair as his mind traveled on his predicament.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

He has some options.

Gary, the Agent had mentioned some stuff about State Aid and surely he can get by with little money.

All this time, he’s been looking for a job that would sustain him and allowed him to put a roof outside of his family’s house, but if he can stay a couple days in the Hotel, he can probably get a small-pay part-time winter job that would cover his daily expenses. He’ll have to talk to Dick and swallow his pride to take a longer stay in the Hotel, but if he manages that…

He took a second breath and moved to the door when he heard Wally and Dick bickering loudly on the hallway. He managed to hear Dick saying ‘ _Don’t think he heard.’_ quite loudly as he opened the door. “Dude, I think the guys at the Interstate can hear you,” he said plastering a fake smile on his face and looking at the faces of his friends.

Dick huffed and Wally smiled and they both entered before he had a chance to say anything else. “Sure thing, come in” he said to the empty hallway and turned to see Dick standing in the room inspecting it and Wally laying down on the bed.

He walked behind them and actually took the time to look over the room. It was a little larger than his home bedroom, it was obviously a business suite as most of the room was covered by the bed and a large desk against the opposite wall to the door. A large TV hung from the wall in front of the bed, and there was a massive bathroom on the further side of the room.

Dick and Wally wasted no time making themselves at home, turning on the TV and putting some music channel to the lowest volume possible. He sat down in the desk chair, letting Dick and Wally share the bed. They stayed there, doing nothing for a good five minutes, before Wally rolled to the side and grabbed a can of Pringles out of the top of the minibar. “Dude! What are you doing?” he asked before he even registered he’d spoken, Wally and Dick both turned to look at him questioningly. “What? I’m hungry,” he said as he popped the lid open and ate a chip, immune to Charlie’s glaring. He sighed as he moved closer to him “Those are like $7 each,” he said biting his lip. Everyone knew stuff in hotels was expensive as fuck. He could get a whole _box_ of those for the same price.

“It’s ok, those are covered in the room cost,” Dick replied and Charlie gaped at him. _No, they are not…_  

“No they’re not,” he said out loud confused looking at Wally and seeing Dick looking weirdly at him. _They weren’t._ He was sure of it. He’d heard enough people joke and complain about overcharges in hotel minibars to actually know this. Then, he remembered _who_ he was talking with. The kid of Bruce Wayne, America’s favorite billionaire. He probably didn’t knew that stuff like that was overpriced, because he never had to worry about money.

Charlie’s mind went back to his earlier digression, and he remembered his 22 dollars. He felt his face flare up at that, thinking he’d have to spend that money on repaying the Pringles Wally had eaten. “I can’t really afford to pay 7 dollars on a whim,” he said and tried to snatch the can from Wally, feeling a heated tar settle on his stomach. He couldn’t afford it. A fucking can of overpriced potato chips. He probably wouldn’t have minded _too_ much just two days ago, but now.

Now, he _couldn’t afford_ _it_.

_The fuck am I doing? I can’t afford a fucking can of Pringles… How the fuck am I gonna live on my own if I can’t fucking afford to eat a can of Pringles._

His action had an immediate response on both his friends, who looked down to the can and he saw Wally biting his lip. Charlie felt the heat rise to his throat and settle there. _They’re pitting me. They’re fucking looking at me as the poor kid who can’t eat a snack who can’t…_

Dick’s gentle squeeze on his leg brought him back as he looked flushed as he started speaking with a weird tone of voice. “D-don’t worry about it, Charlie” he said, and Charlie could have sworn it almost sounded as if he was ashamed. “I asked Fox to take care of the room, and he knows I always snack on the room. So does Wally. So, you can have anything you want from the minibar, free of charge; they’ll even replenish it in the morning if you want.”

Charlie tried to prevent the flush to show in his face. How was he supposed to react to that…

He…

He didn’t wanted to talk about the obvious difference in stature between the three of them. To them, the can of chips could be seen as a non-issue. To him, it was his livelihood. It was his possibility to remain a float.

But he couldn’t tell them. Not now. Not when Dick was doing so much for him.

“Listen, Charlie, I get it.” Wally said and Charlie looked at him, and he had left the can on the bed “It’s not that we’re being obnoxiously rich kids, we’re not. I promise. Look, I only buy clothes at outlets or whenever there’s a massive discount in stores, so it’s weird to me too, when Dick pulls me into an exclusive store and buys me a shirt that has too many zeroes attached to it. But, Bruce actually, _honestly,_ doesn’t mind us spending his money in food and the occasional shopping spree, I think it actually makes him happy to see Dick using his money,” Wally said while Dick was  nodding at him. “So, don’t worry about staying here, or eating, or asking for room service, or anything you need from the hotel.”

“Walls, I… This probably looks stupid to you, but this…” he said grabbing the can “I can’t afford it… I have twenty bucks in my wallet, and _that’s it_ … I… My mother’s probably gonna cut me off my data plan, so I’ll be offline. I have no computer, no job, and no clothes… nothing…” Charlie said feeling a tint of hysteria in his voice as he continued, he looked as Dick was about to open his mouth and he shut him “And before you say anything, Dick, no, you’re not taking me shopping. You already gave me a roof, and a meal, and it’s…” _It’s enough. It’s too much._ “I have nothing… And it suddenly… Fuck this is too much …”

He tried to take a breath as he sat on the bed, his friend moving around and looking at him, the same calmed feeling he got yesterday talking to Wally came over him again, looking at Dick and Wally calm, open face.

“This… I have to get on my feet and try to get a job and try to move forward, but I have _nothing_. I don’t even know where to start. I mean, what if LexCorp can’t help? What can I do? There was a reason why I hadn’t left my home… I wasn’t ready. I… I’m supposed to just be ready? How can I do that, when I’ve barely processed the fact that my dad wanted to _kill-_ ” _me…_

_He tried to kill me._

Charlie felt his throat threaten to close again, but he remembered Nurse Abigail’s voice and he took a deep calming breath.

It was true, though.

He had tried to kill him. He’d honestly tried to strangle him, and if the rail hadn’t given in, he might have succeeded.

_Fuck…_

Dick’s hand was on his back and he looked straight at him and smiled softly. “It’s ok,” he said, “It’s ok to be shocked by it, to be angry and even to feel humiliated by it. You’re going to have to talk to someone about it, it will help,” Charlie tried to huff but Dick just continued “And Charlie, the important thing is… You’ll get through it. Through all of it.”

“Yeah,” Wally said coming closer, “and take this from someone who’s been kicked out of his house, it’s _ok_ to rely on your friends and your family. Your _real_ family.” Charlie looked at Wally0s smiling face and saw nothing but care and openness and he felt calm wash though his body, “Don’t be afraid to ask for help, there will always be people willing to help you.”

Charlie nodded quietly mulling over those words and the soft warm feeling underneath, and decided smiled back at him as he muttered softly “Thanks”.

Wally grinned and move to the side, to the wooden box atop the minibar “So, in the spirit of accepting help…” He took the entire box and placed it on the bed, “Come on, let’s go crazy tonight, courtesy of Mr. Fox… here, have some almonds” Wally threw a box of candied almonds that he let slip through his fingers and had to chase under a chair while the couple laughed at him. Charlie looked at them hoping to keep the shame of his face, throwing the box back at Wally “I’m allergic to nuts” he lied as Wally opened his eyes comically looking guilty at him, making him laugh.

Wally and Dick started bickering over the can of Pringles and Charlie tried to embrace that warm acceptance feeling he’d got after their talk. He sighed and moved to grab the dried mango. He’d never had that before, might as well try it now.  

-_-_-_-

It was always all sorts of amazing, watching Flash whoosh through the streets of Central City and end crime in the blink of an eye; but there was something awe inspiring watching him beat up the Rogues or any other big time villains. It was a sense of child-like excitement that runs like fire through you veins at seeing him _win_.

Even through the TV, you get that awesomeness straight to your heart.

They were watching earlier footage of a fight that had happen that morning. Central City’s Scarlet Speedster and his sidekick had stopped a museum robbery gone wrong. And right now they were covering the outcome, everyone leaving, and Flash, standing there, the camera had caught him from behind.

And Charlie noticed how it stayed right there, on that firm amazing ass, all clad in leather. And he felt a different kind of fire in his veins. He turned to Wally, finding him fixated on the image and he remembered yesterday’s conversation, so he glanced at Dick, who was also focused on the image, although he seemed to be deep in thought. Charlie smirked, “Come on, Walls; he’s obviously really _hot._ ”

Charlie enjoyed Wally’s face going red, but he didn’t expected Dick’s surprised and then amused glance at Wally, “Oh?” he asked with quite a lot of interest “You think Flash is hot, Wally?”, he was obviously enjoying some internal joke as well, but Charlie didn’t really mind, enjoying Wally’s ashamed look. Or what he thought was ashamed, it was kind of hard to know, really.

Dick looked at the screen and hummed, with a wicked smile on his face “He’s kinda sexy, I mean, all covered in that red spandex…” Charlie nodded enthusiastically and Wally whimpered “And those runner thighs… hm…” Dick made an obscene humming noise, like he was imagining _eating up_ those legs.

“Right?” Charlie said.

“ _Dude!_ ” Wally cried at the same time managing to push both of them to the side. Dick and Charlie laughed and Wally turned to look murderous at Dick. “Fine, what about Batman, then?”

Charlie turned confused to look at Wally, while Dick’s smile froze in place looking at him, “What?” he asked. Wally huffed, “Do you also think Batman’s hot?”

Dick stood there looking at him, and Charlie knew what Wally was trying to do, trying to bait Dick with Gotham’s infamous vigilante in retaliation of them picking on him with Central’s hero, it might have worked, but… “Dude!” he said wrinckling his nose. “That guy dresses like a _bat_ and stares people down from gargoyles…” he said, _I mean,_ _honestly…_ “No way that’s sexy.” Dick hummed his agreement with joy clear in his voice, before Charlie added “Robin’s nice though…”

Wally growled and Dick crowed a horrible laugh that had Charlie turn to look at him amazed, “Shit, dude! That’s _the best_ Robin laugh I’ve heard!”

Dick looked surprised at him, before puffing out his chest and saying “Thanks, I’ve been perfecting it for the last couple of years.”

Charlie nodded his approval before asking, “Ok, so, quick question… Out of the seven OG Leaguers, which one would you to shag?”

Dick and Wally looked at themselves ashamed for a second and Charlie thought they were pulling the innocent act, but Dick turned to look at him “Supes, of course.” Charlie rolled his eyes at the predictable answer. He turned to Wally and he went red and muttered something low, that none of them caught. “Come again…” Dick asked, and Wally turned completely red as he muttered “Green Lantern”

Dick’s eyes opened wide, surprised obviously not expecting the answer, before asking “No way! Lantern?” and Wally nodded quietly, before Dick hummed making Wally somewhat uncomfortable, before he looked back at him “How about you?”

“I think it’s a tie between Flash and Lantern,” he answered honestly. Dick and Wally both snickered and he shrugged.

“Ok, how about the sidekicks?” he continued and this time both Dick and Wally spluttered, and Charlie rolled his eyes again. Dick, again, was the first one to answer, “I think Kid Flash is kinda hot,” he said and Wally sat up straight at that, and Charlie had to prevent the scoff at the _obvious_ bout of jealousy.

_Really, because a superhero is gonna be the one to snatch Dick Grayson out of him…_

Dick turned with half a smile at Wally and asked “What, you don’t think he’s hot?” with a raised eyebrow. Wally went red and shook his head stuffing his mouth with Pringles, and Charlie smiled at the golden opportunity. _This is payback for the whole Bruce Wayne thing yesterday, Wally_

“Yeah, right!” he said rolling his eyes. He turned to look at Dick, “He’s acting shy now, but yesterday he was talking about how he wanted to have a threesome with Flash and the Kid,” he deadpanned.

Wally had the misfortune of having a chip on his mouth when Charlie was talking and he ended up choking and coughing pieces of Pringles as his face went red and he shook his head frantically. “I- _what_!? I _never_! You were the one who said that!” Wally said again with his superhuman ability to blurt out sentences in under a millisecond.

Charlie laughed at that, and then Dick made a weird face. “You did?” he asked him and Charlie shrugged. “Yeah, dude, who wouldn’t?” he shook it off, still reeling of Wally’s red face.

“You like Kid Flash?” Dick asked again looking uncomfortable, and Charlie shrugged “Sure, I mean, runner thighs, right?” Dick made a non-committing sound as Wally shifted uncomfortably, Charlie looked from one to the other, not exactly sure what had gotten into them… this was not what he’d thought he’d achieve by his comment.

Wally was supposed to be embarrassed, not…

“Oh, relax Walls,” Charlie said side-hugging him “I’m sure many people share our fantasies…” he winked as he looked at Dick, who was now sending a slight glare at him, that he covered quite quickly… But Charlie managed to see it, and it confused him.

Why were they acting like this?

Talking about dating and bedding superheroes was, like Teenager Talk 101. He’d sure as hell talked about it with his friends all the time. So…

Maybe it was an odd topic for them, but Charlie didn’t really get why…

And then there was Wally’s odd reaction to Dick’s mention of Kid, and Dick’s reaction to Charlie mentioning his own ideas…

Charlie was about to ask about it, when he saw Wally’s tentative smile to Dick, and he remembered an important piece of information. They weren’t _actually_ a couple. With the way they acted about each other, and the way he kept thinking about them as boyfriends, it had slipped his mind that they were in a weird spot around each other.

_Fuck._

They were pretty much pinning idiots with crushes. And he was talking about crushes and bedding other superheroes, other teen superheroes, when they had probably been thinking about the other one all the time.

And add to that the fact that he was still hugging Wally.

_God, Charlie, you’re an idiot._

He moved away, letting Wally move to the side and sit in the border of the bed. Dick’s weirdly intense gaze kept trailed on him, and Charlie fidgeted uncomfortable for a second.

This is stupid.

There’s no reason to be uncomfortable for some stupid ‘ _wish-fuck thinking’_ as Pete had said it once. So he decided to forget about it, and he cleared his throat and smiled at them, “So, any plans for New Year?”

“Yeah, we’re having sort of a meeting with a couple friends in Rhode Island… Nothing major, just trying to avoid Bruce from dragging me into some boring party in Gotham…” Dick said trying to shrug off whatever he’d been feeling.

Wally quickly eased himself into New Years’ Eve traditions and the talk mover way more fluidly from there.

Still, it kept nagging on Charlie’s mind. Wally and Dick had reverted into a weird _space_ thing, not meeting each other’s eyes and Charlie felt like he was a third wheel in a first blind date.

A sort of resolve swept into his bones as he saw Wally’s longing gaze for a fraction of a second, and he made his mind. _This_ was how he repaid Dick and Wally for all they’d done for him in the last couple of days.

His opportunity arose when Wally complained about food, and Dick sent him away to buy some pizzas.

Dick was trying to pick a movie for them to see, when Charlie decided to approach the subject. “So, Dick,” he said calling in his attention, “You and Wally, he told me you’re kind of together.”

Dick’s eyes focused on him, and for a second he thought his whole life had been read in that gaze, before Dick nodded with his lips pressed together. “Yeah, kind of… We’re… on”

“I swear to God, if you say _on a break_ , I’m gonna scream _._ ” He said, remembering Wally’s explanation. Dick raised an eyebrow and looked at him curious before shrugging and grinning “On a time-out, then” he said and Charlie groaned giving up.

“Yeah, whatever…” he waved his hand dismissively “But, I mean, you’re still kind of a couple, right. Or trying to be, then…” he continued pressing. Dick stared at him and then blurted out “Do you like Wally?” That tone of voice didn’t had any of the warmth he’d come to associate with Dick over the last couple days, so he was a little taken aback, but that was kind of his idea all along. “Yeah,” he said not bothering to hide it, he did like Wally. But, he wasn’t a threat to _Dick and Wally_ , though. He kind of shipped them together, so he added quickly, “not like that, though…”

Charlie had a whole speech thought out, so he decided to start from the beginning “I don’t know how much Wally has talked about me, about how I was… I mean, you obviously know I was in a Camp with Wally, but…” Charlie sighed… _I was supposed to have thought this through…_ He started over “When we were on the Camp, I kind of made myself known from day one, because I challenged the asshole who was in charge. I told him straight on, the kind of bullshit he was spewing, that… It kind of made me the problem child. So I ended up being the black sheep.” It was true enough, he’d made the mistake of speaking out and then the asshole had tried to make it look like he wasn’t _trying hard enough._ He remembered the weirded out looks everyone gave him during those days.

“Mother was a nightmare, and as you can imagine, it only got harder with time… except for one thing: Wally. I was tired of the whole thing, the constant praying and counseling. Since _I_ was the problem, I got _special treatment_ , meaning hours and hours of silent meditation, practically 6 hours of solitary confinement. And it was just day three…” That had been really hard. Everyone got the Guided Meditation bullshit in a room, full of people, for 45 minutes. He got locked in a room for 3 hours, before and after lunch. They said it was a particular technique because he was being _disruptive_ , he knew it was their way of punishing him.

“Everyone was running scared just from the sight of me, but Wally… He saw me and kind of opened up. He didn’t just nodded stupidly at what I said, trying to get me to go away, instead he tried to understand and he shared with me, he told me why he was doing it… the camp. I was a fucking asshole, on purpose, talking harsh and acting as much of an ass as they would expect it from a problem child…” He’d learnt to prefect the role from hiding himself from his father and mother. It still surprised him, that Wally gave him a chance, even tried to joke. “So, for a moment, I kind of hated Wally… This kid, with his open accepting family, coming into a hellhole, to a breeding camp to try and appease his mommy and daddy. But then… He looked so _sad._ ”

He remembered the look on Wally’s face while they talked “Even when talking about his family, of what he was supposed to be gaining with this program, he looked… I don’t know,” Charlie sat there, looking at the TV trying to remember what he’d felt back then. “Wally made a joke… fuck I don’t remember what it was, but… it was so fucking pathetic… we were… I think he was the first person I felt… I don’t know, he has this way of making you feel like you can talk to him, you know?” Like he’d trained to be open, to care for people. Maybe he was a trained babysitter or some shit like that, it wouldn’t surprise him, really. He looked at Dick, he kind of got the same vibe from him. “You kind of have that same thing, too… Like you know how to make people calm about themselves, it feels safe around you guys. And, suddenly that place, with the weird looks and the special treatment wasn’t the punishment my family wanted. Before, I realized I was actually looking forward to meeting up with Wally.”

“But then, he was the one that kept looking more and more sad and depressed.” Charlie moved to the core of the issue he wanted to talk with Dick. “It was getting to him, you know? Wally’s smart, he realized pretty quickly that place wasn’t supposed to help him, just teach him how to wear a mask; but he still held on to the idea of being with his family. And that first day we talked, his eyes kind of shined when he thought of being with his family… but at the end… he… I thought he’d break, honestly. I kept insisting on him going to his Aunt, ditching the place.”

“I don’t know what finally did it, we kind of never talked again, but, I guess it had something to do with you; cause one minute he’s sad and broken, and the next he appears out of nowhere with this clear face, an address to a LGBT center and tells me he’s leaving. He tells me he’s going to his aunt. I tried to make a move on him, you know, _call me when you leave,_ kind of thing.” Dick shifted in the bed obviously uncomfortable, Charlie gave him a half smile “He turn me down immediately, he said he had a boyfriend… Fuck, Dick. I had to pick my jaw from the floor” he laughed remembering the feeling he got when Wally had told him that.

_Fucking asshole, getting my hopes up…_

He really couldn’t fault Wally, though, “But you know… The smile he had when he said ‘ _I’m taken’_. I think that’s the only time in the whole time, when I honestly saw him _smile_. Not even that first time, when he talked about getting his family…” He smiled softly at Dick’s face, his eyes were watery and he knew he was getting to him, so Charlie tried to lighten the mood, “Of course, the asshole let out the part that his boyfriend was _you_. If I’d known you then, I would have kicked his ass for daring to break up with you. I hope _you_ kicked his ass for breaking up.”

Dick smiled sadly “I did… We…” He sighed and Charlie nodded him to continue “I mean, it’s hard. You know, Wally’s probably my first serious crush, my first real boyfriend. There was this girl, Zee, I thought I really liked her, you know. Smart, pretty, totally got me. I kind of fell for her right after I met her. Back then, I thought what I felt for Wally was normal best friend feelings…, but then right after I met her…, something happened. It was…” He looked confused, like he wasn’t supposed to talk about this, and he came closer, in an attempt to make him feel more comfortable with a secret. “There’s this game, virtual reality thing WE wanted to test, pretty realistic… Wally and I got in it together, and, we kind of died at the same time. It sounds stupid, but seeing him die, even in the _game_ thing… I realized what I felt for Zee was nothing compared to what I felt for Wally. And then, we got together. Charlie, you can’t imagine, it was the best. And it was only getting better. And then, he ended it. Out of nowhere…”

Dick was outright crying now, and Charlie moved to side-hug him, surprised to feel Dick full on embrace him and he held him tight. He got it, it was hard. He’d been a wreck when Kevin had left, and he’d only left to Florida, he hadn’t left to try and become someone else. He hadn’t been ditched.

Dick was probably feeling really messed up right now.

Charlie sighed, moving his hand up and down his back in what he expected was a soothing motion “Listen, what I’m trying to say is…” he said softly to his ear “I know it must have sucked, what he made you go through. But, he did it for his family, and I gave him hell for going there back then, but… But I get it… you know?” He swallowed thinking of his mother and his father “My family’s been messed up for a while and I still went back to them every time, every time my dad beat the shit outta me, I just thought, all I needed to do was lock myself in my bedroom and wait for it to pass. I still came back every evening after school Fuck, I’m still thinking that maybe I should go back to them…” Dick stiffened in his arms and pushed back ready to say something “I’m not saying I will…” he added as he saw the alarm in Dick’s face, before finishing “I’m saying, it’s family, you know?”

Dick swallowed and nodded. “It’s obvious both of you still like each other…” Charlie said softly and Dick nodded again. “Just… make sure you’re not getting hold up out of Wally’s stupid mistake to please his family, ok?” Dick smiled and got enough of his voice to agree with him. Charlie smiled and turned to the TV and raised the volume a little. He looked at Dick and grinned. “And don’t take too long, either. I’m not nice enough not to go after him if you two don’t get your shit together.”

He saw him move from panicked face that ended up in a focused gaze that had Charlie smiling. “Is that a challenge?” he asked with a confident voice, Charlie scoffed, “Fair warning.”

“Oh, is that-” whatever Dick was about to say got cut up by the door opening loudly, and Wally’s voice from the hallway “Pizza Delivery!” Charlie turned to help Wally who was coming in with two boxes of pizza and some cans of soda. Wally froze on the way after looking at Dick turning away and quite evidently wiping his tears. “Hey, what’s up?” he asked worried.

Charlie took the cans and shrugged at him with a smile, “Nothing, just trying to convince Dick to dump your ass and come stay with me,” the panicked face on Wally made him snort a laugh as he took a sip of Sprite, “Oh, relax, lover boy, he said no. Whatever magic spell you used to get him, still works.”

That seemed to be the right answer, as Wally relaxed visibly and put the pizzas on the bed smiling, “Magic spell?” he blurted, at the same time Dick said, “That’s how you think we got together?” Charlie grinned widely “ _Duh!_ ” he said, looking at Wally “You obviously spiked his drink with a love potion. That, or some weird ritualistic sex thing.” He said snatching one of the smaller slices, not really all that hungry, when an idea popped on his mind, and he grinned wickedly, “That’s it, isn’t it? You’re one of those metas I keep hearing about. You have a magic cock that enslaves your victims after you make them drink your c-”

“ _Dude!_ ” The two scandalized voices prevented him from continue and had him laughing hard as he saw Dick move closer to Wally as he grabbed a slice.

Charlie smiled at the little altercation that came from both of them going for the bigger slice. He saw Dick’s smile and wink at him, his grin grew larger.

_Two days, before they’re together._

_Tops_.

**Author's Note:**

> A fair warning: I haven’t finished this. This was supposed to be a one-shot, then it became two chapters. Right now I’ve written three and planned five chapters… This will be the first time I post a story that I haven’t finished, so I cannot commit to a schedule.


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